THE PLANTING O 
PRESBYTERIANISM 



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I 



THE PLANTING 

OF 

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 

IN 

NORTHERN VIRGINIA 
PRIOR TO THE ORGANIZATION OF 

Winchester Presbytery, 

DECEMBER 4, 1794. 
JAMES RTORAHAM, D. D., 

PASTOR EMERITUS OF THE 

* PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN WINCHESTER, VA. 



WINCHESTER, VA.: 
THE GEO. F. NORTON PUBLISHING CO. 
1904. 



TO THE MEMBERS OF WINCHESTER 
PRESBYTERY 

— in harmonious fellowship with whom my en- 
tire ministry has been spent, and whose unvary- 
ing kindness has cheered the labors and sweet- 
tened the trials of a pastorate extending over a 
period of more than half a century — this volume 
is affectionately inscribed. 



PREFACE. 



It is with many misgivings that this little volume is committed to the 
press. Its author claims no special importance for it. It does not pretend to be 
a complete and connected history of our Church, either in the period of 
which it treats, or in the territory to which it relates. He is fully aware of 
its fragmentary and imperfect character, and of the very limited interest 
that will be taken in its pages. His excuse for offering it to the public, 
already surfeited with books, is the fact that its publication has been insist- 
ently urged by judicious friends, who have some knowledge of its charac- 
ter. It is, moreover, his own conviction that such facts of our Presby- 
terial history as he has here tried to rescue from oblivion, should be put in 
a form most likely to secure their preservation. Though others have ex- 
plored the field in which he has labored, and have made most valuable 
contributions to the early history of our Church, he is persuaded that some 
particulars are here given that will be new to most of his readers, and that 
will have a special interest for the people of The Northern Neck. 

Notwithstanding the care taken by the proofreader, a few typograph- 
ical errors have somehow escaped his watchful eye. Such as have been 
discovered are noticed in the "Errata" at the close of the volume. 



INTRODUCTION. 

T is proposed, in this unpretending volume, to gather up, so far 
as we have been able to obtain them, the facts relating to the 
Planting of Presbyterianism in the territory originally covered by 
the Presbytery of Winchester, down to the time of the or- 
ganization of that Presbytery. This proposal excludes the 
attempt to write a history of the Presbytery itself. It lim- 
its our inquiries strictly to the period which precedes our Pres- 
byterial existence. If this limitation should prove a disap- 
pointment to any reader of this book, our defence is that the materials for 
our history, as an organized body, are carefully preserved in our Presbyte- 
rial Records and are readily accessible; while the facts relating to our ante- 
Presbyterial existence are to be sought from sources more difficult of access, 
many of which have already passed, and others are rapidly passing, beyond 
our reach. 

In the prosecution of this purpose, our work will be but the enlarge- 
ment, in a more correct form, of statements presented in the Historical Ad- 
dress delivered at Shepherdstown, W. Va., September, 1894, at the cele- 
bration of onr Presbyterial Centennial. 

The work here undertaken is not an easy one. To write the early his- 
tory of our churches at all is difficult; to write it with absolute complete- 
ness and to the entire satisfaction of the reader, is impossible. That his- 
tory is involved in the greatest obscurity. The most diligent and pains- 
taking research is not able now to dispel the darkness that broods over it. 
It must be remembered that Presbyterianism here is older than our Presby- 
tery, and that in our efforts to trace its earliest introduction, the records of 
Winchester Presbytery afford us no help. Our inquiries go far back of the 
organization of our Presbytery, and the material for this history must be 
gathered from sources not easily accessible, and not very satisfactory in 
the information furnished when access is obtained. 

But while the fact is to be deplored, that our knowledge of the early 
history of our church is so scant and imperfect, it is gratifying to know 
that neither the General Assembly nor the Presbytery can be held respon- 
sible for the absence of this knowledge. Two years after the Assembly 
was organized (viz: in 1791), it enjoined upon the Presbyteries, then 17 in 




2 



INTRODUCTION. 



number, to gather up and forward to the Assembly all the material that 
could contribute to a full and accurate history of our church from the time 
of its first introduction into this country. Successive Assemblies, through 
a number of years, repeated this injunction, with which the Presbyteries 
f very generally complied; and in 1804 Dr. Ashbel Green and Mr. Ebenezer 
Hazzard were appointed a committee to embody the facts that had 
been collected into a history of the Church. For several years this 
committee reported progress in their work; but the difficulties, which from 
\ the first were formidable, were found at length to be so great that, in 1813, 
the committee reported the work to be impracticable, and at their own re- 
quest were discharged. But the Assembly, unwilling to abandon the 
undertaking, appointed Rev. Samuel Miller D.D. to receive the material in 
3, hand, and complete the history. In 1819 he, too, asked to be relieved and 
Dr. Green was appointed to assist him. But in 1825 these gentlemen re- 
y ported their inability to do the work and asked to be relieved from their 
appointment. While their request was granted, so important did the 
Assembly deem the work to be, that another and larger committee was 
appointed to continue and complete it. This committee reported from time 
to time; but at the Disruption of the church in 1838, the history was still 
unfinished, and from that period, so far as we have discovered, the matter 
disappears from the minutes of the General Assembly. 

. The Presbytery of Winchester displayed equal zeal for the preserva- 
tion of its history. One of the first things it did, after its organization in 
1794, was to order its ministers to prepare a historical account of the origin 
and growth of its respective churches, and when these several accounts 
were presented to Presbytery, the Rev. Moses Hoge was appointed to com- 
pile from them a detailed history of Presbyterianism within our bounds, 
and in 1804 the manuscript volume he had prepared was forwarded to the 
General Assembly. 

And yet when the present writer, many years ago, enquired of the 
proper authorities concerning Dr. Hoge's history, he was told that no defi- 
nite information in reference to it could be given; that while there was a 
mass of manuscripts nominally in possession of the General Assembly, in 
the absence of any provision for their care, they had been deposited in the 
basement of some building in Philadelphia. Some of these manuscripts, 
it was supposed, had already perished, and if Dr. Hoge's History of Win- 
chester Presbytery still existed, it would be impossible to find it, except at 
the expense of more time and labor than anyone could afford to give. 

Since that time " The Presbyterian Historical Society " , has been 



INTRODUCTION. 



3 



formed and is engaged in a most commendable effort to rescue and pre- 
serve all papers bearing upon the history of the church. But the recent 
death of the librarian, while collating and arranging these papers, and who 
alone was thoroughly acquainted with the contents of his shelves, has pre- 
vented us from learning whether the history in question is still in existence 
or not. 

But our own Presbytery gave further evidence of its interest in the 
matter. In April, 1830, it appointed Rev. Drs. Hill and Wilson a commit- 
tee to collect materials and prepare a history of the rise and progress of 
our church within its bounds. Two years later Rev. Dr. D. H. Riddle 
was added to this committee. As chairman, the burden of labor fell on 
Dr. Hill, and he engaged in the work with great enthusiasm. Considerable 
progress had been made when the controversy, which disturbed the church 
at that period, arose. The effect of this was to change materially the char- 
acter of his work. He decided to re-write it from the beginning, and to 
publish it in "Parts " at intervals. " Part I " was published in 1839, and 
is the only portion of his work that ever appeared; and, unfortunately for 
us, this part, partaking of the spirit of the time, is more controversial than 
historical, and sheds very little light upon the matters with which we are 
concerned here. The large amount of material he had collected, and which 
was intended for publication in the subsequent ' ' Parts ' ' of his history, was 
never published, and is not available now. This is much to be lamented, 
as he possessed special advantages for the work he had undertaken. His 
long residence of nearly fifty years in this region, his opportunities for 
obtaining the needed information, his personal acquaintance with many of 
the facts to be recorded, and his acknowledged fitness for the work, all 
conspire to deepen our regret that he did not finish the history he was 
appointed to write. 

In preparing the history here presented, every accessible source of in- 
formation known to us has been laid under contribution. Our chief depend- 
encies, however, has been the Records of the Presbyteran Church, Dr. 
Foote's " Sketches of Virginia," and the more recent invaluable labors of 
the Historical Committee of our Presbytery. 



THE 

Planting of Presbyterianism 

IN THE 

Lower Shenandoah Valley 

AND PARTS ADJACENT. 



EFORE beginning our investigations, it is important that we 
have a distinct understanding of the field to which these in- 
vestigations are to be confined. This is the more important 
as the bounds originally assigned to the Presbytery have been 
greatly reduced. In the year 1859 the larger part of its terri- 
tory was set off to form the Presbytery of " Potomac," and 
the line of the Blue Ridge was made its eastern boundary. 
But previous to that year our Presbyterial bounds were sub- 
stantially co-terminous with what is properly known as ' 4 The Northern Neck 
of Virginia." This Northern Neck " was a tract of land granted by 
King Charles II to Lord Culpeper when Governor of Virginia, and of which 
Lord Fairfax afterward became the proprietor by inheritance. It was a 
princely grant, extending from the shore of Chesapeake Bay to the sum- 
mit of the Alleghany Mountains, and embracing all that territory bounded 
on the northeast and north by the Potomac River throughout its entire length, 
and on the south by the Rappahannock to its head waters, and thence by 
a line extending westward to the head spring of the North Branch of the 
Potomac. This magnificent domain, including twenty-five of the richest 
counties in the State, was the territory which our Presbytery originally em- 
braced. Our task is to discover, so far as it is possible to do so now, the 
beginnings and earliest history of the Presbyterian churches in this territory, 
down to the time of the organization of the Presbytery, December 4, 1794. 

But as soon as we enter upon our task, the discouraging conviction is 
forced upon us that very little is definitely known of the early history of these 
churches, and that the most careful search can add but little to our knowl- 
edge. This is due largely to two facts: First, the very scanty and imper- 
fect records that were made of the earliest effort to establish in this region 




6 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



our system of doctrine, polity, and worship; and secondly, the failure, in 
most instances, to preserve even such scant records as were made. The 
official proceedings of Presbyteries and Synods are often so brief and 
meagre as to give us now no very distinct or satisfactory idea of the events 
recorded. And, apart from the brevity of such documents as are now ex- 
tant, whole volumes of Presbyterial records are hopelessly lost, while of 
sessional records not a line has been produced. For these reasons the Plant- 
ing of Presbyterianism within our bounds is, as we have intimated, involved 
in much obscurity, and we are left in great uncertainty even as to the exact 
period of its introduction. 

While there was a settlement on the James River as early as 1607, 
there is no documentary proof of any immigration to the Valley of the 
Shenandoah for more than a hundred years later. And when settlers began 
to enter it, they did not come, as we might have supposed, from the East, 
across the Blue Ridge, but from the North, across the Potomac. Nor were 
these hardy pioneers the English Episcopalians, who had so long held 
Eastern Virginia : they were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, and Germans 
( Reformed) and Quakers, who, having landed at more northern ports, had 
pushed their way westward across the Delaware, and beyond the Susque- 
hannah, into the Cumberland Valley, and thence southward across Mary- 
land and the Potomac, till they found the home of which they were in search, 
on the waters of the Opecquon and the Shenandoah. But the date of this 
earliest immigration is not positively determined. 

There is an old tradition that the first white man who took up his res- 
idence in this Valley was Morgan Morgan, a native of Wales, who, in 1726, 
settled at what is now Bunker Hill, in Berkeley County, and "built" (says 
Dr. Hawkes in his "History of the P. E. Church in Virginia") "the first 
cabin that was reared on the south side of the Potomac, between the Blue 
Ridge and the North Mountains." Six years later, viz: in 1732, Joist 
Hite, in company with sixteen families, came from Pennsylvania and set- 
tled at or near what is known as Bartons ville, six miles southwest of Win- 
chester, which, Dr. Foote says, "was the first regular settlement west of 
the Blue Ridge in Virginia." Vol. I., p. 101. Three years later still, a 
colony of much more interest and importance to us, settled in that same 
neighborhood. William Hoge, the ancestor of the family of that name, 
which through four successive generations has been so distinguished in the 
ministry of our church, himself " an exile for Christ's sake from Scot- 
land in the days of the persecution," had come to America some years be- 
fore, settling first in Amboy, N. J., then in Delaware, then in Dauphin 



/ 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



7 



County, Pa., and, removing thence, settled, about the year 1735, near 
what is now Kernstown, three miles southwest ,of Winchester. The fam- 
ilies of Glass, Vance, White and others, whose descendants are still among 
us, either accompanied him here or joined him soon after his arrival, and 
united with him in the organization of the Opecquon Church, "the oldest 
congregation (says Dr. Foote) west of the Blue Bidge." Their House of 
Worship was erected on land given for the purpose by Mr. Hoge. 

This is the generally accepted account of the earliest settlement of our 
Valley, and of the introduction of Presbyterianism within our bounds. But 
later investigations awaken serious doubts as to its correctness. It is at 
least challenged by the tradition which Henry Howe preserved in his 
"Historical Collections of Virginia" (p. 192) and which long ago was 
current in Berkeley County, that "the spot where Tuscarora Church now 
stands, is the first place where the Gospel was publicly preached and di- 
vine worship performed west of the Blue Ridge." But while the claim of 
Tuscarora to a very early origin is doubtless well founded, tradition of it- 
self is not sufficient to determine a historical fact. Something more relia- 
ble must be advanced if we would set aside the long accepted conclusions 
of Dr. Foote and others. And I now propose to show that there is sub- 
stantial ground for believing that Presbyterianism was introduced into our 
Valley at a date earlier than is generally supposed, and at a point nearer 
to the mouth than to the head of the Opecquon. 

In the records of the old Synod of Philadelphia for September 19, 
1719, is this minute: "The Synod having received a letter from the peo- 
ple of Potomoke, in Virginia, requesting the Synod's care and diligence to 
provide them an able Gospel minister to settle among them; it was ap- 
pointed that the Rev. Mr. Daniel McGill should go and preach to that 
people in order to settlement upon mutual agreement," etc. The next 
year, September 22, 1720, we find the following minute: "Mr. McGill 
reported to the Synod that according to last year's appointment he went to 
Potomoke, in Virginia, and after some months' continuance there, put the 
people into church order." And then it is added, "The said congregation 
of Potomoke, in Virginia, have sent a letter to the Synod, manifesting 
their approbation of Mr. McGill' s whole conduct among them, and desir- 
ing his settling with them as their minister." This request was consid- 
ered, but action upon it deferred from time to time, till finally it was re- 
ferred to the Committee of Bills and Overtures, whose report, if any was 
made, is not recorded, and the name does not appear again in the min- 
utes of Synod. 



8 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



The question to which these minutes have given rise is as to the loca- 
tion of this "Potomoke in Virginia." This question is a perplexing one, 
inasmuch as the most diligent search has failed to find even the name any- 
where else than in the minutes from which we have just quoted. Yet the dis- 
covery of its location is a matter of very great interest to the student of the 
early history of the Presbyterian Church in this country, and of special inter- 
est to us because of its possible bearing upon the early history of our own 
Presbytery, for at Potomoke — wherever that was — was organized the second 
Presbyterian Church planted in Virginia. Before this date we have an account 
of only "one small congregation on the Elizabeth River, "and "a few families 
favoring our way on the Rappahannock and York," while in the whole 
colony there was not a single resident Presbyterian minister. [See min- 
utes of Synod, pp. 20 and 54, * 'Letters."] 

No wonder, then, that the historians of the Church have sought very 
earnestly for some clue that would enable them to determine the locality 
in question. Some have tried to find it on the "Eastern Shore." Web- 
ster fixes upon Bladensburg, Md. Foote ' 'supposes' ' it to have been in Fau- 
quier or Loudoun County, or somewhere east of the Blue Ridge." David- 
son says that ' 'no part of Virginia at that period answered so well the de- 
scription as the region west of the Blue Ridge;" and he "believed the peo- 
ple of Potomoke to be identical with the congregations of Falling Waters 
and Tuscarora." Gillett positively asserts that it was "near the present 
town of Martinsburg, W. Va." But most confess their utter inability to 
discover any clue whatever to its probable location, and some, in despair 
over their fruitless efforts, declare that every trace of evidence as to its 
location is lost, and the place must now remain forever unknown. 

But a matter of so much historical interest should not be summarily 
dismissed ; and recent investigations have brought to my knowledge cer- 
tain facts which suggest the possibility of still reaching a solution of this 
perplexing question. 

One very suggestive fact is, that while "Potomoke in Virginia" dis- 
appears from the Records of the Synod after 1720, the expression "the 
people of Virginia" frequently appears in the Records for 1722, 1723 and 
1724 ; and the minutes concerning these "people" come in naturally as the 
continuance of the minutes concerning "the people of Potomoke in Virginia," 
making the conclusion almost irresistible, that the two expressions refer to 
the same people. In 1724 the whole affair touching these people was re- 
ferred by the Synod to the Presbytery of New Castle. But the expecta- 
tion which this reference awakens — that the Records of that Presbytery 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



9 



will give us the positive information we seek — is disappointed by the fact 
that those Records are lost. 

In 1732 the Presbytery of Donegal was erected out of the Presbytery 
of New Castle ; and gradually the interests of our church in Virginia came 
under the oversight of the new Presbytery. And here we meet with another 
very suggestive fact, viz., that in the early Records of Donegal the name "Po- 
tomack in Virginia" occurs as an established place of divine worship. The 
presumption appears a reasonable one that we have here another name for 
"Potomoke inVirginia, ' ' or rather a different, but correct, spelling of the same 
name. The striking similarity of the two words, their close resemblance in 
sound, the fact that the one is not used in the Records till the other disappears; 
indeed, all the circumstances known to us, strongly force upon us the con- 
viction that Potomoke and Potomack are one and the same place. The 
slight difference in orthography is nothing against it, for first, the correct 
spelling of geographical names was not, at that time, fixed ; and, second- 
ly, even after the correct spelling had been determined, persons not famil- 
iar with the word, or to whom it was known only by sound, would be 
likely to depart from the fixed orthography < Even in these Records the 
word Potomoke is once written Patomoke. The word "Potomack" appears 
in six different forms, exclusive of the two now in question. The name of 
one of the oldest churches in the Shenandoah Valley, "Opecquon," is 
spelled in the Presbyterian Records not less than twenty-four different 
ways, while the pronunciation remains the same in all. 

Now, as it is scarcely possible that a people, who displayed such 
persistent zeal in obtaining Gospel ordinances as did ' 'the people of Poto- 
moke," should allow them, when once enjoyed, to pass quickly from 
their possession, and as we can find no trace whatever of that early 
church, unless we find it in that Donegal Record to which we have just re- 
ferred, and as all the facts in the case encourage us to look for it there, 
are we not warranted to conclude, not only that "the people of Potomoke, 
in Virginia," and "the people of Virginia" were the same people; but also 
that the church which was organized among them by the Rev. Daniel Mc- 
Gill in 1720, and which awakened so much interest and received so much 
attention for several years in the highest court of the Church, and was 
then transferred to the Presbytery of New Castle, is the same which, at 
a later date, reappears as the church of "Potomack in Virginia" in the 
Records of Donegal ? 

This important question then arises — where was Potomack ? That it 
was a place distinct from the river of that name is evident, not only 



10 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



from the fact that in the Minutes of Presbytery it is mentioned just as 
other churches are, but also from the fact that in early official documents, 
other than ecclesiastical, there is a place of that name distinctly mentioned, 
for example, Governor Spottswood, in a letter to the " Council of Trade," 
London, dated July 26, 1712, speaks of "the return of Baron De Graffenreid 
fromPotomack," and in his letter clearly distinguishes between a place and 
the river of that name. Now, can we locate that place ? The Records of 
Donegal Presbytery enables us to do so approximately. The frequent as- 
sociation of Potomac with Opecquon, Bullskin and Tuscarora, as a church 
to be supplied at the same time with them and by the same missionary, 
makes it evident that it was in easy reach of these well-known churches, 
and therefore, somewhere, in the northern end of the Valley of Virginia. 
The references in the Spottswood Letters (pp. 152, 153, 168) point in 
the same direction. De Graffenreid had evidently set out to visit "the 
fforks of Potomac," where, after his disastrous experience in North Caro- 
lina, he had determined to settle with a colony of his Swiss countrymen. 
Before reaching his destination he seems to have found a settlement — 
called "Potomack" from which he sends back to the Governor a report of 
his progress; and the Governor sends to him a request that, when his des- 
tination is reached, he would prepare him "a draught of both those 
branches" which constitute "the fforks of Potomack." There is nothing 
in the statements of these letters that enables us to fix positively the loca- 
tion of "Potomack," yet the facts and circumstances that are mentioned 
make it difficult to resist the conclusion that the place was west of the 
Blue Ridge, and at some point on the river well up towards its "head 
springs." The testimony of these two witnesses, together with all the facts 
we have been able to gather, which bear upon the case at all, seem to 
point with singular clearness to the village of Shepherdstown — or to its im- 
mediate neighborhood — as the site of the place we are trying to locate; for 

1. The name itself suggests its proximity to the Potomac River. 

2. The Pack-Horse Ford, by which the early emigrants crossed the 
Potomac on entering the Valley, was at Shepherdstown, and naturally an 
early settlement would be made at or near the ford. 

3. Every mention of Potomack Church in the Minutes of Presbytery is 
attended with circumstances which show that it must have been there or 
in that vicinity. 

4. The mention of it in the Governor's letter agrees with this theory 
of its location better than with any other. 

4. The fact is of no little significance that, as soon as the name of 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



11 



Shepherdstown is introduced into the Presbyterial Records as designating 
a church, the name Potomack disappears. 

6. But besides this strong presumptive evidence as to the location of 
4 'Potomack, " we have this further testimony that is direct and positive: A 
gentleman residing in Winchester, Va., in 1891 and nearly ninety years of 
age, but in full possession of his mental faculties, whose youth was spent 
near Shepherdstown, testified that, in his boyhood, the common name for 
the village, through the surrounding country, was "Potomac." 

These considerations and facts would seem to be conclusive in deter- 
mining the location of the church called "Potomack, in Virginia." And 
if, as seems so probable, this name is another and the correct one for "Po- 
tomoke in Virginia, ' ' then it determines the long-mooted question as to the 
location of "the people" who in 1720 were reported by the Rev. Mr. Mc- 
Gill to have been "put into church order" by him ; and it also fixes the 
place where the second duly constituted Presbyterian Church in Virginia 
was planted. 

But to this conclusion it is objected that any testimony that would lo- 
cate "Potomoke" anywhere in the Valley of Virginia "is inadmissable, 
because there were no white inhabitants of the Valley anywhere along the 
Potomac or Shenandoah previous to about the year 1733" (Foote's 
Sketches, Vol. I., p. 357). If this statement is correct, our conclusion 
must, of course, be abandoned. But the statement not only affirms more 
than the facts will justify, but what the facts themselves actually contra- 
dict. The early historians of the Valley evidently thought that the first 
settlements made were on the headwaters of the Opecquon. And it is 
probably true that there were no white inhabitants there ' 'previous to 
about the year 1733." But it by no means follows that there were none 
nearer the Potomac. It must be remembered that the emigration to the 
Valley was from the North, crossing the Potomac. And no sufficient 
reason has ever been given, and none can be given, why the first settlers 
should pass over the beautiful, fertile and well-watered lands of Jefferson 
and Berkeley Counties — " the finest in the world" — and select lands fifty 
miles or more further south that offered no superior advantages in respect 
either to productiveness or beauty, if those more accessible and better 
lands were still unoccupied. 

But there is authority for saying that these sharp-witted men were not 
guilty of this folly. Evidence is not wanting that much of that land was 
already claimed. A considerable body of Quakers had settled about the 
Ross (now Washington) Spring, 6 miles north of Winchester, and had 



12 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



built the "Hopewell Meeting House" several years earlier than the settle- 
ment on the upper Opecquon. There has been preserved the certificate, or 
record, of the marriage of John Ross to Lydia Hollingsworth at the Hope- 
well Meeting House, Orange County, Va., October 11, 1735 ; and to this 
certificate are signed the names of 47 witnesses. This number is very sig- 
nificant. That there should have been so many present (adults, of course) 
as certifying witnesses to a marriage, indicates a much larger population 
than could probably have been gathered in one community in the space of 
only two years. Morgan Morgan and his company had made their homes 
on Mill Creek, in Berkeley County, not later than 1726. Norris, in his 
History of the Lower Valley, gives uncontradicted traditions of various 
settlements still nearer the Potomac before the immigration flowed over 
into Frederick County. It is certain there were settlers on the Maryland 
side of the Potomac as early probably as 1720. Dr. Cameron, of Prince- 
ton University, has the deed for mill property lying opposite Shepherds- 
town, purchased by his ancestors in 1726. The mill had been used for 
some years before the purchase was made. Of course, there were people 
there whose wants the mill was intended to supply. And with only a nar- 
row and fordable river to be crossed we know of no reason why the settle- 
ment should have been confined to the Maryland side. 

But there is additional proof that there were ' ' white inhabitants in this 
Valley previous to about 1733," Governor Spottswood, the ablest of all 
the colonial Governors of Virginia, signalized his term of office by earnest 
efforts to secure settlements on his western frontier, and thereby afford 
protection to Eastern Virginia against the incursions of the Indians. His 
success was probably not commensurate with his efforts. And yet his 
"Letters" show that as early as 1712, twenty years before Hite crossed 
the Potomac, there were settlers west of the Blue Ridge ; and before the 
"Knights of the Horseshoe" crossed the mountains no inconsiderable num- 
ber of people had made their homes along the Potomac River, and ' 'in 
the mountains of the Northern Neck," and even in "the f forks of the Po- 
tomac." The Baron De Graff enreid on his visit to "the fforks of the Po- 
tomac" had informed the Governor ("Letters," pp. 152-3 and 161-2 and 
8 ) that he had obtained important information as to the resources of that 
country from the people whom he met ; and that one man particularly, 
Mr. Mitchell, a Swiss gentleman, who had traveled through all that country 
some years before, was convinced that it abounded in valuable minerals. 
The Baron himself, who had experience in mining, was persuaded that 
"The Forks," where he had intended to settle, was rich in mineral wealth; 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



13 



but he was discouraged from taking his colony there, by the conflicting 
claims to the ownership of the land made by the agents, respectively, of 
Lord Baltimore, the Lady Fairfax, and the British Queen. , Moreover, in 
1722, Governor Spottswood effected a treaty with the Indians, which, while 
imposing no restrictions whatever upon the movements of the whites, bound 
the Indians, under the severest penalties, not to cross the Potomac or the 
Blue Ridge, in either direction, without special permission. In the treaty 
itself the reason for making it is given. It was for the protection of "the 
Anglo-Saxon race," which, as Charles Campbell, in his History of Vir- 
ginia, p. 433, says, had " gradually extended itself, like a vapor, beyond 
the western base of the Blue Ridge, and collisions with the native tribes 
had begun to ensue." Evidently there were white inhabitants west of the 
Ridge and south of the Potomac at that date. Further evidence is fur- 
nished by the Act of Assembly of 1738, forming the county of Frederick. 
In that Act, the reason explicitly given for the erection of the new county 
is, that "great numbers of people have settled themselves of late x x x 
on the northwest side of the Blue Ridge, whereby the strength of the col- 
ony, and its security, and its revenues are like to be increased." At that 
day, five years would not suffice for such a large increase of population as 
this Act acknowledges. 

And there was a reason for this increase in the population of the Shen- 
andoah Valley, even while the Cumberland Valley was still sparsely settled. 
The presence of the Scotch-Irish was not welcomed in Pennsylvania. They 
were regarded as a " pugnacious " people, and undesirable neighbors. In 
1724, James Logan, secretary of the Province, wrote of them, " It looks to 
me as if Ireland is to send all its inhabitants hither; for last week not less 
than six ships arrived x x x The common fear is that if they thus 
continue to come, they will make themselves proprietors of the Province. 
It is strange that they thus crowd where they are not wanted." Accordingly, 
while others were treated with kindness, these were often driven from their 
settlements, their cabins burned, and they told to move further on in the 
wilderness. Thus ejected, not a few of them moved southward, and found 
in Virginia that freedom from molestation which was denied them in the 
Province of William Penn. 

But there is still more convincing evidence of an early settlement here. 
In the old graveyard on Elk Branch, 5 miles south of Shepherdstown, 
where, more than a hundred years ago, stood the ruins of a Presbyterian 
Church, is a tombstone, the German inscription on which, until within a few 
years past, was quite legible, though now, since the stone has fallen and 



14 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



been trampled over, the inscription is partially effaced. It was erected to 
the memory of Katarma Bekrlin, a Christian woman, and states that she 
died in 1707. The correctness of these figures can hardly be disputed. 
The Rev. Dr. John A. Scott, pastor of the Elk Branch Church in 1869, 
says that, in company with three other persons, he had the old stone 
cleaned of lichen and washed, and was then able, very satisfactorily, to 
read the inscription and date of death, 1707. He further testified that 
three intelligent persons had previously examined the stone, and their read- 
ing agreed with his. Persons residing in the neighborhood have known of 
the existence of this stone for more than fifty years, and their understand- 
ing has always been that the date it gives of the woman's death is 1707. 
This must be taken as certain proof that white people resided there at least 
as early as that date. The grave of a woman, carefully marked, can mean 
nothing else. 

Beyond all reasonable contradiction, then, there were white inhabitants 
in this lower Valley many years prior to the settlement of Hite on the Opec- 
quon, or of the Friends around Hopewell Meeting House, or of Morgan on 
Mill Creek. These inhabitants may have been " squatters," they probably 
were; but they were there. And as this fact meets and removes the only 
objection that is offered to the conclusion we have reached, it is not unrea- 
sonable to insist that that conclusion ought to be accepted as probably cor- 
rect. While we dare not affirm its absolute certainty, or claim that the 
location of ' ' Potomoke in Virginia ' ' is hereby established beyond all possi- 
ble dispute; yet we do modestly insist that, as no other location has been found 
for it, and as all the evidence known to us is in support of the location we 
have given it, until its existence in some other place is positively proven, 
we must be allowed to believe that the " Potomack in Virginia," of the 
Presbyterial Records, is the " Potomoke in Virginia," of the Synodical Rec- 
ords; and that the long-sought-for locality in which, in 1720, "the people 
of Potomoke were put into church order, " is to be found at, or near, Shep- 
herdstown in West Virginia, and within the bounds of the Presbytery of 
Winchester. 

Before concluding this discussion of an earlier settlement of this 
Valley than Kerchival allows, notice should perhaps be taken of the alleged 
absence of any documentary evidence of such settlement. Against our con- 
tentions it is claimed that there are no title deeds earlier than Hite's. This 
claim is disputed; but, if true, it amounts to nothing. It is based upon an 
entire misapprehension of the conditions then existing. For fifteen years 
after Hite came there were no land offices west of the Blue Ridge, from 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 15 

which titles could be obtained; and the early pioneers did not concern 
themselves about legal formalities, where no officers were present to enforce 
them. Without putting themselves to the trouble and expense of a tedious 
journey to a distant Court House, or to the Capital, they just took possession 
of any unclaimed land that suited them, and attended to securing a title 
afterwards. For the present, what was called a "tomahawk right " was 
sufficient. This consisted in girding a few trees near a spring or stream, 
and cutting the claimant' s name in the bark. This, of course, was no right 
in law; but it was generally respected by other settlers, and deeds were 
usually given for what was claimed. When a colony, like that of Hite,was 
about to migrate, requiring a large tract of land, the formalities of the law 
were complied with, and a special grant secured, either directly from the 
Crown or from the authorities at Williamsburg. But when the settlers were 
only a family or two, no such expensive procedure was thought of. In 
fact, the laws of the colony provided that many classes of people could, 
without any expense to themselves, claim a tract of 50 acres, and when 
that was " planted and seated " — i. e., when any portion of it was cultivated 
and a building erected — they were entitled to 50 acres more. Under these 
conditions no very early title deeds could be expected. 



And now, conceding that we may date the origin of Presbyterianism 
in this region as far back, at least, as 1720, what has been its history since? 
For a period of about seventy years it is not possible to trace this history 
in detail with absolute certainty. Only this is clear, that the Presbyterian 
population, when once immigration began, rapidly increased; and the 
inference is fair, and, in fact, is sustained by such meagre records as we 
have, as well as by uniform tradition, that these early settlers brought their 
Bibles and Catechisms and Confessions of Faith with them; and no sooner 
was a settlement effected, than measures were taken to provide themselves 
with the ordinances of religion. The sacrifices which this required did not 
deter them. Commissioners were sent hundreds of miles, at great cost of 
time and money, ' ' supplicating ' ' Synod and Presbyteries to supply them 
with the ministrations of the Word of God. And both Synod and Presby- 
tery were diligent in meeting, so far as their limited resources would enable 



16 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



them to do it, the appeals which came to them for help. These appeals 
came from widely distant points; indeed, the early Synodical Records, 
and those of Presbytery as well, show that almost all the ministers of that 
day were engaged about half their time in evangelistic work; their field of 
labor extending from the banks of the Hudson to those of the Savannah. 
A few years ago, while trying to get at the early history of our church in 
this Lower Valley, I was asked to help prepare the history of the church 
in which I was born and raised — the old " Wallkill " (now " Goodwill ") 
church, the oldest, but one, west of the Hudson in New York. While en- 
gaged in this work, it was to me a matter of much interest, and also of 
surprise, to find that many of the ministers who assisted at the organization, 
and were the early supplies of the Wallkill church, were the same who 
visited this Valley, and preached at Opecquon, Cedar Creek, Bullskin and 
elsewhere. 

And here let me remark, that when the standard of our faith and 
worship was first erected here, the Presbyterian Church in America was 
yet in its infancy. It assumed its ecclesiastical form in the latter part 
of 1705, or the beginning of 1706, by the organization of the Presbytery of 
Philadelphia. In 1716 this Presbytery had become so large that it was 
divided into four, viz: Philadelphia, New Castle, Snow Hill and Long Island, 
and the " Synod of Philadelphia" was constituted. Four years later the 
general statistics of the church, so far as known, were one Synod, four 
Presbyteries, and twenty-seven ministers. The number of churches and 
their membership cannot be given with any claim to accuracy. 

From the time of its introduction the growth of our cause in this region 
was steady, if not rapid. Two years after "the people of Potomoke" 
had been " put in church order," viz: in 1722, another representation was 
made to Synod, ' 'of the earnest desire of some Protestant dissenting families 
in Virginia " for church privileges, " together with a comfortable prospect 
of the increase of our interests there;" and the Synod responded by sending 
three ministers to visit severally said people, and preach four Sabbaths 
each to them (p. 74). These ministers fulfilled their appointments, and 
the next year (1723) further representations were made from Virginia, and 
additional supplies were sent them (p. 76). At the same time " a Letter 
of Address" was sent by the Synod to the Governor of Virginia, evidently 
on behalf of these Presbyterian people. 

Now, it is not said from what part of Virginia these early applications 
for supplies came; but from all the facts recorded it appears almost certain 
that they came from the Northern Neck of Virginia and possibly from this 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



17 



Lower Valley. They were evidently new settlements, rapidly increasing in 
population, and composed largely of people of Presbyterian faith, that sent 
the " supplications;" and these facts point almost unmistakably to the ter- 
ritory accupied by this Presbytery. But while we meet with some sugges- 
tive hints, nothing very definite — owing to loss of the New Castle Records 
— can be found after 1723, until about the time the colonies of Hite and 
Hoge settled in Frederick County. In the meantime (viz: in 1732), the 
Presbytery of Donegal was erected in the Cumberland V alley, and upon it, 
as territorially near, the supply of the destitutions here, principally, though 
not exclusively, devolved. This duty engaged the active attention of that 
Presbytery as early as 1736, though there is evidence that some of its min- 
isters made missionary journeys through this region earlier than that. From 
this time, through a period of several years, distinct record is made by 
both Presbytery and Synod of supplications ' ' from different societies of 
our persuasion in Virginia," being taken under consideration. 

It is about this time, viz: 1737, that we first meet with that expression, 
which, after this date, becomes familiar in both the Presbyterial and Syn- 
odical Records — ' ' a supplication was received from the back parts of Vir- 
ginia." The expression, I think, has very generally been misunderstood. 
It has been supposed to designate chiefly, if not exclusively, the region 
now covered by our Presbytery. And as it is manifestly used with refer- 
ence to people who have just settled, or are just about, to settle in these 
" back parts of Virginia," I could not see how the theory of an earlier set- 
tlement of this Lower Valley, than that held by Kercheval and others, 
could, consistently with such a meaning of this phrase, be maintained. 
But there are certain facts in the Record itself which show conclusively that 
it is Augusta County and not Frederick, that the phrase is meant to 
designate. In the first place, " the people of Beverly Manor," which is 
known to have been in Augusta, are expressly located in ' ' the back parts 
of Virginia." In the second place, the supplies, sent in answer to these 
supplications, are directed to preach at Bullskin, Opecquon and elsewhere 
on their way to " the back parts of Virginia." And in the third place, the 
ministers sent as supplies are men who are known to have labored at that 
very time in Augusta County. But twenty years before Rev. John Craig, 
their first supply, began his labors in the Upper Valley, Rev. Daniel Mc- 
Gill had preached at Potomoke and " set the people in church order;" 
and in 1722 and 1723 Rev. Hugh Conn, John Orme, William Stewart and 
the celebrated Johnathan Dickinson had been sent as itinerants through 
these lower counties. 



18 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



The first Presbyterian minister, however, west of the Blue Ridge, of 
whose history and fields of labor we have distinct and unquestioned knowl- 
edge, was Rev. Samuel Gelston, who preached at Opecquon in 1735. Mr. 
Gelston was born in Ireland in 1692, came, a Licentiate, to this country in 
1715, was ordained in 1717, and settled at Southampton, L. I. Ten years 
later he removed to Maryland, where he fell under the censure of 
his Presbytery (New Castle). Going into the Highlands of New York, 
evil reports of him came back to his Presbytery, and he was suspended; 
but the suspension was soon removed by a commission of Synod, and he 
came in 1735 to Virginia. The next year application for his ministerial 
services was made to Presbytery "from both parts of Opekan" — i. e., 
from Opecquon proper, and Cedar Creek, which two churches for nearly 
a hundred years were associated in one pastoral charge. In answer to this 
application, he was appointed to visit "the new inhabitants near Opekan." 
If he filled this appointment it was only for a brief period; for in the fall 
of the same year he was dismissed from his Presbytery. He died October 
22, 1782, aged 90 years. 

Mr. Gelston was followed by Rev. James Anderson, one of the most 
distinguished of the early Presbyterian ministers in America. Born and 
ordained in Scotland, he left there in 1709. After preaching for brief 
periods at different places, he became, in 1717, the first pastor of the First 
Presbyterian Church in the city of New York; but difficulties arising in 
his charge, he, in 1726, accepted a call to Donegal Presbytery; and eleven 
years thereafter (1737) we find him visiting Opecquon. This visit was 
made memorable by the fact that either in that year, or within the next 
two years, he organized our "old Opecquon Church." 

From 1735 the claims of the settlers on this side the Potomac engaged 
the attention of the Presbytery at every session. At first, however, a se- 
rious bar to its efforts was found in the hostility of the Virginia Govern- 
ment to the worship of the "Dissenters." East of the Ridge they were 
persistently persecuted; and west of it they were barely tolerated. There- 
fore, in 1738, the Synod, at the request of Presbytery, sent a deputation, 
with a letter to Governor Gooch, soliciting his favor on behalf of the Pres- 
byterian interests of the colony. This action was taken at the instance of 
John Caldwell a Ruling Elder of Chestnut Level, Pa., and the great grand- 
father of John Caldwell Calhoun, of South Carolina. The Rev. Mr. An- 
derson was deputed to bear the letter of the Synod. He was kindly re- 
ceived by the Governor, and his mission resulted very satisfactorily. 

We can readily imagine, however, that a reason much more potent 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



19 



than the simple justice of the request, should have induced the Government 
to grant it. It would tend to the encouragement of immigration along the 
western frontier, and so contribute to the security of the older settlements. 
Those hardy immigrants would serve as a defense against the incursions of 
the Indians; and, therefore, no questions would be raised in reference to 
their ecc]§ siastical faith and order. As Gillett says, "If they could handle 
a rifle, or plant along the western forests a line of protection against the in- 
roads of hostile savages, they were sufficiently orthodox. Their distance, 
moreover, prevented any umbrage being taken at a dissent that did not at- 
tract notice, or give offence." (Vol. I., p. 106.) 

Presbyterianism being thus left to plant itself west of the Blue Ridge 
without serious molestation from the State Church on the tidewater, more 
earnest efforts were made to supply these western settlements. Rev. John 
Thomson, the pastor of Elder Caldwell, who had visited this Valley and 
preached at Opecquon, proposed to his Presbytery that an itinerant should 
be sent to this region; and his brethren appointed him to this duty. But 
he was afterward' s excused "because of the severity of the winter and the 
scarcity of provender." The same year (1738) "both parts of Opecquon 
supplicated for him; ' ' and it was his wish to become their pastor, but his 
Presbytery would not consent. The next year (1739) another supplica- 
tion came "from the back parts of Virginia" (i. e., from Augusta County) 
and five years later (in 1744) Mr. Thomson made his home in the Upper 
Valley; and, with Messrs. Black and Craig, was entrusted with the over- 
sight of all missionary operations in that part of Virginia. 

Meanwhile the interests of this Lower Valley were not neglected. Be- 
sides the services of Rev. William Bertram, Presbytery appointed, Novem- 
ber 16, 1739, Licentiate John Craig "to supply at Opekan, the High 
(Hite ?) Tract and other societies of our persuasion in Virginia, at his dis- 
cretion." He spent the summer in this region, and the next year was set- 
tled in Augusta as first pastor of the "Triple Forks of Shenandoah." 

The Presbytery of Donegal, April 1, 1740, appointed Rev. James 
Anderson to "write to Upikin" (another of the multitudinous spellings of 
Opecquon) and the next day ordered "that Mr. Caven visit Bullskin on 
the third Sabbath of this instant, and at Upekin the Friday before." Rev. 
Samuel Caven was one of the most active and efficient ministers of the 
Presbytery. He came a licentiate from Ireland; his ministerial labors 
were given mainly to the settlements in the Lower Cumberland Valley in 
Pennsylvania, serving churches in Mercersburg, Chambersburg, Greencastle 
and elsewhere; but was often sent to visit the settlements and churches 



20 



THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



south of the Potomac. In December, 1740, we find him again at Opec- 
quon, where he seems to have remained for a considerable time, and to 
have performed important work. 

About this time we find the name of a Mr. Lyn in connection with 
Opecquon Church. On September 3, 1740, Presbytery "received a sup- 
plication from Opecquon in Virginia, after the manner of a call^ for Mr. 
Lyn." But " finding it impossible to gratify such a request at present, 
they appointed Mr. Craig to supply them one Sabbath as he goes to Vir- 
ginia (i. e., to Augusta County) and to moderate a call for Mr. Lyn." 
At the same time " Mr. Lyn was ordered to supply several places in 
Pennsylvania and Opecquon by turns till the next meeting." Mr. Craig 
moderated the call, and it was in the hands of Mr. Lyn December 11, 
1740. Meanwhile, Mr. Caven, while at Opecquon, was directed " to in- 
quire into the grounds of Mr. Gillespie's information relating to Mr. Lyn, 
and make report of it to the next meeting." And with this minute the 
name of Mr. Lyn disappears from the records. 

Mr. Caven was followed late in 1742 by Rev. William Robinson, an 
eminently devout and benevolent man, and one of the most vigorous and 
effective preachers of his day. Born in England and coming to this country 
in early manhood, he was ordained by the Presbytery of New Brunswick 
in 1741. In the winter of the next year, at the earnest request of the peo- 
ple, he was sent to visit the Presbyterian settlements in the Shenandoah 
Valley and further South. The results of his mission in the Valley could 
not have been very great, for soon after his arrival he was seized, near Win- 
chester, by the sheriff, who started with him to Williamsburg, where he 
must answer to the Governor for preaching without a license from him. 
But before reaching his destination the officer became so impressed with 
the good sense and piety of his prisoner, that he released him and allowed 
him to continue his mission unmolested. His work, thus rudely interrupted 
in the Valley, was pursued with remarkable success in Eastern Virginia. 
His brilliant ministry, of less than five years, was suddenly terminated by 
death, in April, 1746. Dr. Archibald Alexander says of him, that "dur- 
ing the short period of his life he was probably the instrument in the con- 
version of as many souls as any minister who ever lived in this country." 
It was through his instrumentality that Rev. Samuel Davies was brought to 
Virginia. 

Mr. Robinson, who made but a passing visit to Opecquon, and to other 
points in this region, was succeeded by Rev. John Hindman, of whose la- 
bors we have no very definite knowledge. He was licensed by Donegal 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



21 



July 2, 1741; and the next year, June 16, 1742, " upon a motion that Mr. 
Hynman (Hindman) be ordained sinetitulo, as a missionary to the back part 
of Virginia, in order to baptize, etc., the Presbytery agreed thereto and 
ordered that he shall, at our next session, deliver a common head, viz: 
whether preparatory or common convictions be necessary to conversion; 
and an homily on Psalm 37. Also that he supply in Virginia till our next; 
in his way thither he is to preach at Opekon and a week day at Bullskin." 
He was ordained November 11, 1742, and was sent at once as an evangel- 
ist to Virginia — probably to the Upper Valley. But the next year June 
21, 1743, he was appointed to supply Opecquon during a part of July. 
There is reason to believe that, until the spring of 1745, his labors were 
given to Opecquon, Bullskin and other points in this region. 

Rev. Samuel Caven, whose visits to this Lower Valley have already 
been so frequent, appears once more as a missionary here; and it is in con- 
nection with this visit that the name Potomack first occurs. On June 11, 
1745, Mr. Caven is appointed to supply Potomack, Opecquon and Bullskin 
" at his conveniency," until the next meeting of Presbytery. 

And now to go back a little. The year 1740 marks a period of new 
interest in the history of the church within our bounds. Before that time 
the attention of Presbytery and Synod had been given, south of the Poto- 
mac, to the Shenandoah Valley. But in December, 1740, Mr. Caven, then 
at Opecquon, was ordered to Supply at South Branch at his discretion; 
and within six months (May 30, 1741) a supplication was brought in for 
supplies "from the South Branch of the Potomac." This, we have reason 
to believe, was from Presbyterians in the Moorefield Valley. As early as 
1734 or 1735, a settlement began there on lands for which John and Isaac 
Vanmeter had obtained a "warrant" from Governor Gooch, and in five or 
six years the settlers had become so numerous as to justify the effort to 
obtain a Christian minister. These early settlers were largely of Dutch 
origin, though many of Scotch-Irish descent were mingled with them. 
Their first supplies came from Donegal Presbytery; and yet very early in 
their history measures were taken to supply them by the Reformed Dutch 
Classis of New Jersey, from which colony many of them came. 

From the year 1745 to 1759, we are cut off from our most important 
source of information concerning the progress of Presbyterianism in this 
Lower Valley, by the loss of the Second Volume of the Records of Donegal 
Presbytery, covering that period of fourteen years. This loss there is 
nothing to supply. The Records of the Synods of Philadelphia and of 
New York contain, it is true, a great deal of information, which is valuable 



22 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



as showing the activity and enlargement of the church, but, save in one or 
two instances, the minutes are so general in their statements as to give no 
definite information as to the particular places in Virginia that seek to re- 
ceive, or that obtain supplies. 

It was during this period — perhaps, in some cases, a little earlier — that 
settlements were made, and churches of our order were started at Falling 
Waters, and on Tuscarora, Back Creek, Sleepy Creek, "Cape Capon," 
and Patterson's Creek. While the name of " Tuscarora in Virginia" does 
not appear in any existing Ecclesiastical Records until April, 1760, it is 
the uniform and undisputed tradition, that one of the earliest settlements in 
this Valley was made on that stream; and that a Presbyterian congregation 
of considerable importance was established there as early, some allege, as 
1740. Very nearly the same is true of Falling Waters. Although in the 
Records to which we have access the name does not occur until April, 1762, 
there is scarcely a doubt there was a church at that place prior to 1750. 
Local tradition, with some probability, fixes the date of the organization 
at 1745. 

Of the other places named, no authentic dates for their organization for 
worship can be given; nor can it be determined by whose ministry they 
were supplied. But in the beginning of the Third Volume of the Donegal 
Records, these names appear as of places with which the Presbytery was 
familiar; and provision is made for their supply, as if it were an established 
custom. 



The extensive and unhappy Schism of 1741, and which lasted for 
seventeen years, was seriously felt by the churches in this Valley, as well 
as elsewhere. Of the controversies which finally resulted in the division 
of the Synod, and which were attended with so much ill-feeling and un- 
brotherly conduct, it is not our purpose here to treat. Without stating the 
questions at issue, or attempting to discuss their merits, it is sufficient for 
the purposes of this history to say, that after four or five years of bitter 
contention and recrimination, the Presbyteries of New Brunswick, New 
York and part of New Castle withdrew and formed themselves into a 
Synod under the style of "The Synod of New York," holding their first 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 23 

meeting at Elizabethtown, N. J., in September, 1745. These seceding 
Presbyteries were called the 4 'New Side," while those which adhered to 
the Synod of Philadelphia, viz., Philadelphia, Donegal and part of New 
Castle, were known as the "Old Side." 

The Presbytery of Donegal was thoroughly identified with the Old 
Side, and yet some of its congregations south of the Potomac were in sym- 
pathy with the New Side. This was especially true of Opecquon and 
Cedar Creek. So far, however, as we can learn, nearly all the other Pres- 
byterians in this Valley espoused, and with no little warmth, the cause of 
the Old Side. Without deciding whether their views of the questions in 
controversy were right or wrong, it must be admitted that it would have 
contributed more to their growth at that time, if their sympathies had led 
them the other way. The Old Side, while not weaker at first, failed to 
grow with the rapidity of their rivals, and in a short time found them- 
selves unable to send supplies to the more distant churches that were ask- 
ing for them. They were dependent largely for the increase of their min- 
isters upon emigration from the old country. But at that time a sudden 
check was given to this emigration. During the whole period of the divi- 
sion very few ministers came to them from either Scotland or Ireland; the 
supply from New England was almost entirely cut off, and as their own 
churches did not furnish them with many Licentiates it was found at the 
time of the reunion, that more ministers had been lost by death and removal 
than had been gained by additions. 

The New Side, on the other hand, had larger facilities for obtaining 
preachers, especially from New England, and so were in a much better 
condition to look after the outposts and new settlements; and as they were 
less scrupulous about intruding, they did not wait for an invitation from 
Presbytery or congregation before sending their missionaries. Virginia, in 
particular, engaged a large share of their attentions, and many of their 
ablest ministers visited this Valley on missionary tours of larger or shorter 
continuance. While that Schism lasted, the churches here, particularly 
Opecquon and Cedar Creek, enjoyed, at different times, the services of such 
men as Drs. John and Samuel Blair, John Roan, Samuel Finley and the 
two Tennents, Gilbert and William, whose fervent zeal brought them on 
evangelistic journeys to this distant region* Men, too, less distinguished 
than these, as Rev. Eliab Byram, Rev. William Dean and others, visited 
the Valley and preached for some time with acceptance and success. 

Meanwhile, the Old Side did not relinquish its claim upon this field. 
The Presbytery of Donegal, whose jurisdiction extended over this Lower 



24 . THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



Valley, continued, as far as circumstances would permit, its oversight of 
the churches here. But the growing demand for increased labor in the 
older settlements, and the embarrassing scarcity of ministers, prevented 
the Presbytery from meeting, in any adequate measure, the growing wants 
of the newer fields. And as it soon became evident that the visits of its 
ministers were not specially desired in some of these churches, they grad- 
ually became less frequent, and before the division was healed their visits 
seem almost entirely to have ceased. With the loss of the Presbyterial 
Records, the last faint trace of them disappears until the new Volume of 
Records is opened. 

The preponderance not only of numbers, but of zeal, too, was un- 
doubtedly with the New Side; and for several years the missionary work 
done both in this Valley and throughout Virginia, was carried on mainly, 
though not exclusively, by the Synod of New York and the Presbyteries 
composing it. It seems, however, that while their ministers were zealous 
they were not always wise in their zeal. Some of them, in their heated 
discussions with, or about, their old Old Side brethren, had allowed them- 
selves to use language of the most unchristian and abusive character. They 
did not scruple to denounce those whose views touching questions in dis- 
pute differed from their own, as "babbling, ignorant priests," "dry, sap- 
less unconverted ministers," "the devil's advocates," "ministers of Satan 
and enemies of all righteousness." And in their labors in Virginia, some 
of them, in their condemnation of the formality and worldliness then pre- 
vailing in the established Church, were so intemperate in their expressions 
as to expose themselves to the censure of the civil authorities. Informa- 
tion was laid before the Synod of Philadelphia in 1745, that Governor 
Gooch had arraigned before a grand jury at Williamsburg certain Presby- 
terian preachers who had visited his colony. In his charge to this jury he 
accused them of being "false teachers, who had crept into his government 
without orders, or license, or any testimonial of their education or sect; 
professing themselves ministers under the pretended influence of new light, 
extraordinary impulse, and such like fanatical and enthusiastical knowledge, 
they were leading the innocent and ignorant people into all kinds of delu- 
sions; and in this frantic and profane disguise they treat all other modes 
of worship with the utmost scorn and contempt," even saying of the Gov- 
ernor himself, and of his fellow churchmen, that they "worshipped the 
devil and were damned;" all which offences, he concludes, constitute "an 
iniquity to be punished by the judges." 

When these facts were brought to the knowledge of the Synod of 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 25 



Philadelphia, it promptly disclaimed all connection with the parties accused 
and all responsibility for "the conduct of some of the new party which 
had so highly provoked the government of that colony;" and they "judged 
It necessary to send an address to Governor Gooch, informing him of 
the distinction between this Synod and that separated party, that so their 
conduct might not be imputed to us, nor provoke that government to deny 
us the liberties and favors we have enjoyed under it." [Minutes of Synod 
of Philadelphia, pp. 181-2.] 

While treating of this Schism, which produced such alination and bit- 
ter controversy, we should not overlook the fact, that it was during its con- 
tinuance, that the church was visited with a revival, the most remarkable, 
perhaps, in the history of this country. It swept over all the provinces 
from Massachusetts to Georgia, and lasted through many years. The inter- 
est awakened everywhere was most intense. It reached all classes and 
conditions of people, and was confined to no church. Numbers of all 
denominations, and many who had no connection with any, were found 
among the penitent inquirers. And yet, outside of New England, it was 
in Presbyterian churches that the work prevailed most extensively; and 
Presbyterian preachers were the most active in promoting it. 

But while this " Great Awakening " was so extended in its sweep, and 
so profound in its operations, and (as all agree) so gracious in many of its 
results, it is to be lamented that in many, if not in most, places it was 
attended with circumstances which exposed it to serious suspicion in the 
judgment of not a few of the wise and good of that time ; and which now, 
in the historical review of the facts, will admit of no excuse. It was marred 
almost everywhere, by scenes of the most extravagant excitement. Loud 
outcries, and faintings, and violent and unseemly bodily agitations, and al- 
most every possible form in which religious fanaticism can express itself, 
were indulged in; and with the approval of many of the eminent ministers 
by whom the meetings were conducted. It must be said, however, that 
very many of these friends and promoters of the Revival, who, during its 
early stages, fell, like Edwards, into the error of countenancing its delusions, 
afterwards severely condemned them, as Edwards himself did. 

We learn from the testimony of Samuel Davies that the Revival was 
powerfully felt in Virginia; and that our churches in this Lower Valley 
were in an especial manner brought under its influence and shared in its 
blessings ; while to a large extent they were exempt from its errors and its 
pernicious consequences. Dr. Hodge writes that "in no part of our coun- 
try was the revival more interesting, and in very few was it so pure as in 
Virginia." 



26 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



But giving our attention now to matters that more immediately con- 
cern us, it will be observed that until 1754 the churches within our Presby- 
terial limits were dependent for public worship upon such occasional sup- 
plies as they could obtain. In not a single instance had the pastoral rela- 
tion been constituted, and so far as the Records inform us the supplies 
were in no case of very long continuance. Many attempts were made to 
secure the settlement of a minister at Opecquon and Cedar Creek, and also 
at Bullskin, but without success. 

In the year 1754, however, Rev. John Hoge was called to the Opec- 
quon field and remained there as pastor for eighteen years. Mr. Hoge, 
though not a resident of Virginia, until he took charge of the Opecquon 
Church, was yet closely related to that congregation by family ties. He 
was the son of John Hoge, who was the eldest son of William Hoge, who, 
in 1735, settled on Upper Opecquon and gave the land on which the meet- 
ing house is built. John Hoge, sr., was the only one of his father's im- 
mediate children who failed to remove with him to Virginia. He settled 
in Pennsylvania at a place afterwards called Hogetown, a few miles distant 
from Harrisburg, and where some of his descendants are still found. In 
all the old records the name is spelled "Hogg" or "Hogge;" but in using 
the name here we will conform to the modern spelling "Hoge," which the 
family seems now generally to prefer. 

The Rev. John Hoge, jr., was probably born at South Amboy, N. 
J., but the date of his birth is not known. He was graduated from Nassau 
Hall in 1749, and was taken under the care of New Castle Presbytery(New 
Side) as a candidate for the ministry. After some time his Presbytery 
discouraged him from entering on his trials for licensure, " lest his genius 
should not be fit for the ministry." Persevering in his purpose, however, 
he stood his trials, and was licensed October 10, 1753. For a few months 
after licensure he preached in Pennsylvania, and then came to Virginia and 
began his long ministry in Frederick County. In 1755 he was ordained 
and "settled" over Opecquon and Cedar Creek. It would be interesting to 
know just how he was settled. In that early day there seems to have been 
no rigid observance of ecclesiastical forms. The organization of a church 
was a rather loose and informal act, and the installation of a pastor does not 
seem to have been attended with much ceremony. One of the Tennents 
went through the form of installing himself. 

At the time of Mr. Hoge's settlement, Opecquon was the most impor- 
tant church in the Valley, and remained so for many years. For a number 
of years it was the only place of public worship within a large district. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 27 



The nearest Episcopal Church was at Bunker Hill. There was probably 
no church of any faith in Winchester until 1753*, when a Lutheran Church 
was organized. George Washington, while in command at Fort Loudoun, 
often rode out to Opecquonto worship. 

Mr. Hoge's ministry was not without many discouragements. The 
churches grew in numbers, but the condition of things around them was 
unsettled and often alarming. His meagre salary was poorly paid, and on 
this ground he began, within six years of his settlement, to plead for re- 
lease from his charge. He was promised £70 from the entire field, and 
yet in a few years his churches were in arrears to him more than a year's 
salary. Notwithstanding earnest efforts to remedy this evil, it continued. 
In 1759 his Presbyterial relations were transferred to Donegal. The next 
year (1760) Tuscarora was added to his charge. And here the Records 
become somewhat confused. It looks as if he had been at least tempo- 
rarily released from his charge, for on April 6, 1760, Mr. Hoge is ordered 
by his Presbytery to "supply Tuscarora, Opecquon and Back Creek three 
Sabbaths at his discretion." At the same meeting Mr. Hoge requests the 
Presbytery to "send some member to assist him in some congregational 
affairs," and Mr. Duf field is sent to his assistance. In October of that 
year supplies are asked for Opecquon, Back Creek and Tuscarora, and 
in reply, Mr. Hoge is ordered to "supply three Sabbaths at adjacent va- 
cancies." The next spring, 1761, supplications are made to Presbytery 
from Opecquon and other places, and he is appointed to supply at discre- 
tion. 

Whatever may be the explanation of these rather confusing facts, Mr. 
Hoge, November 11, 1761, asked leave of Presbytery to resign his charge, 
and Presbytery ordered Mr. Roan to write to these congregations touching 
the salary in arrears. And now it appears that he was still in legal charge 
of the churches of Opecquon and Cedar Creek, for these churches, in con- 
sequence of Mr. Roan's letter, asked for the continuance of Mr. Hoge as 
their pastor, and promised to pay him what was due. He remained in his 
field. But in October, 1764, he complained to Presbytery that he would 
have to resign on account of the non-payment of salary, and Presbytery 
ordered that unless the churches reported payment to its next meeting it 
would release Mr. Hoge. The churches must have made a satisfactory re- 
port, as he continued his pastoral labors for several years without further 
complaint. In October, 1767, Presbytery assigned all its vacancies in Vir- 
ginia to him. The next year he was accused before Presbytery by Joseph 
Colvil, a member of his church, for having fraudulently obtained a judg- 



28 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



ment in Lord Fairfax's office for a tract of land, but upon a full hearing of 
the case he was acquitted of all charges. In June, 1771, the old trouble 
about the salary again came up. The churches begged to retain their pas- 
tor; but the Presbytery, wearied with their delinquency, sternly ordered 
that the matter be satisfactorily arranged by the next meeting, or they 
should no longer have the services of Mr. Hoge. At the next meeting, 
October, 1771, the arrearages had not been paid; but on representation of 
the commissioners from Cedar Creek and Opecquon, the Presbytery con- 
sented to defer the removal of Mr. Hoge; but when it next met (April, 
1772) he was finally released from his pastoral charge on account of non- 
payment of salary. 

Mr. Hoge enjoyed the distinction of having been the first pastorwithin 
our Presbyterial bounds. As such, we have thought him entitled to the 
extended notice here given him. After his pastoral relation was dissolved 
he continued for a few years to reside in Frederick County, and served as 
supply to various churches in the Valley. When he removed to Pennsyl- 
vania he was appointed in 1775 to serve the Paxton and Derry churches, 
or rather those portions of these churches which, on account of their New 
Side sympathies, had separated themselves from the mother churches. 
Rev. John Elder, from whose churches these had seceded, and who was 
a rigid Old Side man, still claimed the entire field, and resented this 
encroachment on his rights. It is not known whether Mr. Hoge had 
been guilty of any indiscretion in fulfilling the appointment of Presbytery; 
but Mr. Elder did not approve of his presence in his territory, and at the 
next meeting of Presbytery complained of having been ' 'annoyed by the 
rooting around of a Hog that had been turned into the field." 

When the Presbytery of Donegal was divided, in 1786, into the Pres- 
byteries of Carlisle and Baltimore, the Presbyterial relations of Mr. Hoge 
were thrown with Carlisle. And when the Presbytery of Huntingdon was 
erected out of Carlisle, April, 1795, he, as one of the oldest members of 
the new Presbytery, was appointed to preach the opening sermon and to 
preside at the organization, and was chosen its first moderator. Of his 
labors after this we have no definite account. He died February 11, 1807. 
It is said of him that he ' 'was always highly esteemed as a minister and 
had an unquestioned character for piety." Through his whole life he was 
largely engaged in evangelistic work, for which he seems to have been 
peculiarly adapted. His grandchildren still reside at Watsontown, North- 
umberland County, Pa. 

Of the other churches within our Presbyterial bounds, the authentic 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 29 

facts now ascertainable, are too few and vague to enable us to give a satis- 
f actor history of any one of them prior to about 1770. That several churches 
had already been formed in this territory, and that some of them had 
attained a considerable importance, are well-known facts; but none of them 
had yet been able to secure a pastor, and few of them could obtain supplies 
of any permanence. Potomac, Bullskin, Tuscarora, Falling Water, South 
Branch, Capon, and others had been in existence for a considerable time, 
and were continually sending their ' ' supplications ' ' to Presbytery and 
Synod; and in the bodies appealed to, commendable interest and zeal had 
been manifested in furnishing them with supplies; but, so far as the Records 
inform us, not one of them had reached that numerical or financial strength 
that could secure them the services of a settled minister. It seems to be true, 
that not only was Mr. Hoge the first pastor within our bounds, but that up 
to the period of his settlement there was no minister of our faith and order 
whose residence was here. As we have seen, our people were dependent 
for preaching not merely, but for all ministerial services, as marriages, bap- 
tisms, funerals, etc., upon such "supplies" as were sent them, or upon 
the occasional visits of those ministers who were passing through on their 
evangelistic tours. In those days the date of a marriage was fixed ordi- 
narily, not by the wishes or convenience of the parties engaged, but by 
the expected coming of a "supply," or the providential arrival of an evan- 
gelist. And to this difficulty of obtaining ministerial service when needed 
may be traced that custom which prevails here still, to some extent, of 
having the funeral sermon preached at some convenient day subsequent to 
— and sometimes long subsequent to — the burial of the deceased. 

But notwithstanding their limited ability and the distance to be trav- 
eled, the Presbyteries were remarkably faithful in furnishing these people 
with Gospel ordinances. Besides the visits made by appointment of Synod 
and by ministers from New Castle and other Presbyteries, the Presbytery 
of Donegal, between 1735 and 1745, made large provision for the destitu- 
tion here. As we have already seen, Rev. Samuel Gelston, who visited 
Opecquon in the summer of 1736, was the first one sent. The next year 
Rev. James Anderson and Rev. William Bertram came on a general mis- 
sion, their services to be given without limitation of time and wherever oc- 
casion for them was found. In the spring of 1740, Rev. Samuel Caven 
visited Bullskin and Opecquon, and the next winter preached on the 
South Branch of the Potomac. Five years later he was again sent to Vir- 
ginia, and supplied Potomack in Virginia, Opecquon and Bullskin. In the 
fall of 1740 Mr. Lynn visited these churches and received a call to Opec- 



1 

30 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIAN ISM 

quon; but because of some unfavorable rumors he was not settled there. 
In 1741, Rev. Alexander McDowell was ordained sine titulo, and was sent to 
"itinerate sine tempore in Virginia." In 1742, Rev. John Hindman was sent 
here as a missionary, and the next year we find him supplying Opecquon. 

From 1745, through the loss of the Presbyterial Records, a gap 
of fourteen years occurs, during which we have but little knowledge of 
the evangelistic work of Donegal. We only know that it continued to 
send supplies to these congregations as it had opportunity; while to some 
of them special attention was given by the New Side Synod of New York, 
whose missionaries found a heartier welcome among them. 

But when we have access again to the Records of Donegal, we find, 
not only that the missionary zeal of that Presbytery had not abated, but 
that it had entered with renewed activity upon the supply of the territory 
south of the Potomac. New congregations had been formed in this Lower 
Valley, and also along the waters of Back Creek, Capon and the South 
Branch. In the next ten years their missionaries had crossed to the east 
of the Blue Ridge, and churches of our faith and order were beginning to 
spring up at numerous points between the Potomac and the Rappahannock, 
and many of these continued to grow in strength and importance under the 
fostering of those zealous men, who, at great personal cost and sacrifice, 
supplied them with the ministrations of the Word. 

The ministers thus engaged in the planting and training of these 
churches, prior to the organization of our Presbytery in 1794, were about 
fifty in number, not more than ten or twelve of whom were settled here as 
pastors. Their work covered a period of perhaps seventy-five years. The 
names of nearly all of them could be given, but it would probably be with- 
out interest to record them here, as so few of them are known to us now. 

A matter of more interest is the date and the chronological order of 
the organization of these churches. It would be difficult, however, if not 
impossible, to give these dates with any accuracy, as the data by which 
we would have to be guided are not altogether reliable. When "the peo- 
ple of Potomoke, in Virginia," were "put in church order" in 1720, the 
Synod, soon after, gave the oversight of "the people of Virginia" to the 
Presbytery of New Castle. But unfortunately the Records of that Pres- 
bytery, which would throw light on the early history of many of our 
churches are lost. When the Presbytery of Donegal was erected in 1732 
nothing was said as to its relations to the new settlements south of the 
Potomac, and three years or more elapsed before any attention was given 
to them. In the meantime it is reasonable to suppose that the Presbytery 



I 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 31 

of New Castle was not neglecting the people whose religious interests the 
Synod had committed to its care. Besides supplying "the people of Po- 
tomoke," it would give needed attention to adjacent settlements. And it 
seems highly probable that her missionaries had visited other points in this 
Lower Valley before this region came under the oversight of Donegal. 
There is certainly something significant in the way in which such places as 
Bullskin, Back Creek, Tuscarora and Falling Waters are introduced in the 
Records of Donegal as compared, e. g., with the first appearance of Opec- 
quon. The minute for May, 1736, is "Mr. Gelston is ordered to supply 
the new inhabitants near Opekan in Virginia," showing on the face of the 
minute that this is the first minister sent there. Whereas in April, 1740, 
when Bullskin is first named, nothing is said to designate the locality, but 
it is mentioned as a place with which Presbytery is already acquainted and 
had probably supplied before. The same is true of Tuscarora, Back Creek 
and Falling Waters. When these names appear in the Third Volume of 
Donegal Records, they appear evidently as places which the Presbytery 
was accustomed to supply. We cannot affirm it as a fact, but the conjec- 
ture should not be too hastily dismissed as improbable, that Bullskin may 
be an older settlement even than Opecquon. For if, as seems most rea- 
sonable, the immigrants to this Valley first settled near the Potomac, on 
the rich and inviting lands of Berkeley and Jefferson, and then gradually, 
as these lands were taken up, made their way southward, it is not at all im- 
probable that there was a settlement on the waters of the Bullskin, before 
Hite had come to the head waters of the Opecquon. 

But while we are not able to give, with any degree of certainty, the 
dates of the organization of our several churches, we can, with tolerable 
accuracy, fix the time when most of them first became places of worship 
for Presbyterian congregations. In doing this we are guided mainly by the 
records of the old Synods, and of the Presbytery of Donegal. 



32 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



I POTOMAC. 

Beyond all question, the place at which Presbyterian worship was first 
held within our original Presbyterial bounds, was at ' ' Potomoke in Virginia;" 
for even should our contentions be disproved, which locates that church 
west of the Blue Ridge, it must still have been within the territory assigned 
to Winchester Presbytery at its organization in 1794. That territory 
embraced the entire Northern Neck of Virginia. But if, as we are almost 
compelled to believe, the "Potomoke in Virginia" of the Synodical Records 
of 1719, et seq., is the " Potomack in Virginia" of the Donegal Records 
of a later date, then unquestionably our earliest Presbyterian organization 
was at, or near Shepherdstown, now in West Virginia. " The people " of 
that place were '* put in church order " sometime before September, 1720, 
and were served by supplies from the Synod of Philadelphia until Septem- 
ber, 1724, when the care of these people was committed to the Presbytery 
of New Castle. But the loss of the Records of that Presbytery leaves us 
completely in the dark as to the history of that church for a period of nearly 
twenty years. In the meantime the Presbytery of Donegal was erected 
(1732), which gradually extended its jurisdiction south of the Potomac ; 
and in the last year of the period covered by the First Volume of its Records, 
a place called "Potomack in Virginia" appears, asking for supplies. 
This was in 1745. But the Second Volume of its Records, covering the next 
fourteen years, is lost, leaving us again in the dark. With the Third Vol- 
ume, however, " Potomack in Virginia " reappears. Under date of August 
31, 1762, Mr. McGan (a name I find no where else) is "ordered to supply 
Tuscarora and Potomack in Virginia the first two Sabbaths in March." 
After that date this name silently drops from these Records. But why 
should it be dropped ? In the absence of all positive evidence, we, of 
course, can give no certain answer to this question. But in view of what 
is known to us, the conjecture is at least reasonable, that the church had 
obtained a permanent supply, and for several subsequent years had no 
occasion to ask help from Presbytery. Certainly a church with such a 
history would not be likely to let itself die. There was everything in its 
situation to favor its growth. There is, however, an interesting fact that 
may possibly throw light upon the question. A few years after the name 
"Potomack" disappears, the names of Shepherdstown (October, 1768) and 
Elk Branch (April 11, 1769) appear for the first time, but as places of 
unusual importance. One of them, Elk Branch, is soon strong enough to 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



33 



call and settle Rev. John McKnight as its pastor ; while the other, Shep- 
herdstown, seems able to have procured its own supplies, until the Rev. 
Moses Hoge was obtained as its pastor. There is convincing evidence that 
Elk Branch had been a place of worship for some time before its name is 
mentioned in the Presbyterial Records. An old log church which stood in 
the Presbyterian graveyard near Duf fields, and which had fallen into decay 
in 1792, must have been erected and used much earlier than 1769. A rea- 
sonable explanation, which meets all the known conditions of the case, is 
that Potomac Church, planted by Daniel McGillin 1720, continued to flour- 
ish under the fostering care, first of the Presbytery of New Castle, and 
then of Donegal, until it became advisable to divide it, which was done by 
effecting a separate organization at Elk Branch, which was already one of 
its preaching stations, and where a house of worship already existed. In 
this division, which, if our theory is tenable, took place at some time 
between 1763 and 1767, the old name, " Potomac," was dropped, and the 
name ' ' Shepherdstown, ' ' by which the village was now called, was given 
it. Of these churches we will speak hereafter, under their present names. 



II OPECQUON. a 

The church whose name appears next in the Records is ' ' The Old 
Opecquon." The history of this church, so far as is known, down to 1772, 
when the pastoral relation of Rev. John Hoge was dissolved, has already 
been given with considerable fullness (pp. 18 to 28). 

For the nine years which followed the resignation of Mr. Hoge, and 
which covered the exciting period before and during the Revolutionary 
War, the church was served by supplies appointed by Presbytery, or ob- 
tained from the casual visits of evangelists. Notwithstanding its diffi- 
culty in meeting its pecuniary obligations to their late pastor, no sooner 
had the church become vacant than great earnestness was displayed in 

a In writing the name of this church, I have followed, throughout this volume, the spelling which 
received the final approval of Dr. Foote. In the first volume of his "Sketches of Virginia," he wrote the 
name "Opeckon ;" but in his second volume, six years later, he wrote it invariably "Opecquon." Dr. 
Foote is the highest authority as to the proper spelling of this historic name, the orthography of which, in 
Ecclesiastical annals, is so varied. 



34 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



securing supplies for the pulpit. Supplications were sent to Presbytery at 
every meeting. Mr. Hoge, who retained his residence in Frederick County 
for several years, and of whom his old parishioners were very fond, seems 
still to have been their main reliance for preaching. He was the one first 
appointed by Presbytery when the vacancy occurred, and almost the only 
one to supply their pulpit for the next three years, after which his name no 
longer appears in the minutes in connection with the church. But Mr. 
Vance, pastor of Tuscarora; Mr. McKnight, pastor of Elk Branch, and Mr. 
Thompson, of Kittocktin; with Messrs. Slemmons, Craighead, Balch, Linn 
and others from north of the Potomac, were sent to them, and some of 
them were sent quite frequently. 

Of the evangelists who visited them, we have very little information. 
There is, however, one notable exception, that of Rev. Philip V. Fithian, 
a native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton in 1772. He was a young 
man of unusual gifts, who died three years after his entrance into the min- 
istry. While a student of theology, he became tutor in the family of Coun- 
cillor Robert Carter, of " Nomini Hall, " Westmoreland County, Va. He 
had a wonderfully clear and accurate insight into human character, and 
made good use of his opportunity in portraying what came under his obser- 
vation. His letters, written during the year of his residence at "Nomini 
Hall," have recently been published, and give one of the most instructive 
and attractive pictures of domestic and social life in Virginia at that period 
anywhere to be found. After his licensure in 1774, he, and Rev. Andrew 
Hunter, whose relatives lived in this Valley, were commissioned by the 
Synod to visit some of the frontier missionary fields. His diary of that 
journey contains many interesting facts about the churches he visited, and 
furnishes some racy reading about the people of that day. Some extracts 
from this diary will be given in connection with the places to which they 
relate. His visit to this Valley was made in the spring and summer of 
1775. The War of the Revolution was then impending, and he found the 
whole country active with excitement and preparation. Of his visit to 
Opecquon he writes: 

" Sunday, May 28. Opickon Church. A large and genteel society, 
mostly Irish. I preached two sermons; the people very attentive." x x 
He seems to have been the guesi of Mr. Glass, of whom he writes: 

" May 31. Mr. Glass was blessed while he was filling up his family, 
so far as to have eight daughters in continual succession and but three 
sons. I visited a brother of his a mile off at the head of Opickon Creek, 
a solid, lusty farmer, x x Several visits we made today, among others 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 35 



to one Colville. He is clerk for the Society, raises the tune and in the 
primitive genuine Presbyterian whine and roll, begins the first note of the 
music with a deep strained gutteral from the last word of the reading, with- 
out any intermissions. This, however, in these societies is universal. I 
am here under the necessity of close study, as the people do not allow of 
reading sermons. 

" Sunday, June 11. [Opecquon.] A numerous assembly. Mr. Hoge 
present. He is a lusty, well-made man. Capt. Holmes introduced me to 
him, and he received me kindly. Invited me to the session house, and 
home with him after worship. I proposed and strongly urged him to 
preach at least once, but he wholly declined it. Several store-keepers and 
people of note were out from Winchester, many members of the English 
Church, and all gave good attention. Sometimes, at particular sentences, 
I could observe every eye to be fixed, and the whole house in silence. 
Then when the sentiments cooled, one would cough, another would ogle 
some woman, a third would take snuff, etc. After sermon I rode home 
with Mr. Hoge. He is remarkably chatty, and in some cases facetious, 
has the reputation, I believe, justly, of a sound, well meaning man. I 
grieve for his present state ; he has a large family, no way of supporting it, 
has been dismissed from this Society near three years. He is anxious of 
being re-instated, and is jealous of my having an intention to supplant him. 

" Monday, June 12. The opinion of his politicks is blank. He rode 
with me to Mr. Glass' . Mr. Glass gave me for my sermons five dollars 
and many thanks. He proposed I should stay with them a year on trial, 
but I objected on Mr. Hoge's case." 

For a church, however, as large and vigorous as Opecquon had become, 
it would not do to be dependent on the precarious services of Presbyterial 
supplies, or of traveling evangelists. A pastor became a necessity, and 
many calls were made. Among them, one was sent, April 14, 1774, to the 
Rev. James Waddel, " The Blind Preacher" of the Bristish Spy, then liv- 
ing in Lancaster County, Va., but beginning to feel unsettled, because of 
the ill effect of that climate upon his health. This call was declined. After 
several other unsuccessful efforts, a call was made in October, 1781, for 
Rev. John Montgomery, and accepted. In this call, as we might expect, 
Cedar Creek united; but it is interesting now to find the name of Winchester 
associated with these old churches in their present call. 

The Rev. John Montgomery, to whom this call was given, was a native 
of Augusta County, Va., and of Scotch- Irish ancestry. His parents were 
prominently identified with the New Providence Church. He prepared for 



36 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



college in a school which his father helped to found, and was graduated at 
Princeton in 1775. In the fall of that year he became, by appointment of 
Presbytery, the assistant of Rev. William Graham in that famous academy 
which has now grown into Washington & Lee University. He was received 
by Hanover Presbytery as a candidate for the ministry in 1777; but con- 
tinued to teach while pursuing his theological studies under Dr. Graham. 
After his licensure, October 28, 1778, he devoted himself to the ministry, 
and was ordained by Hanover Presbytery April 27, 1780. The next year 
(1781) he was settled over Opecquon, Cedar Greek and Winchester, where 
he continued to minister, greatly beloved by his people and much blessed 
in his work, until 1789, when, much to the regret of his congregation, he 
resigned his charge and moved to land that he had inherited on the Big 
Calf Pasture River, in the western part of Augusta County, where he 
lived the remainder of his life as pastor of Lebanon and Rocky Spring 
churches. During the latter part of his life his increasing bodily infirmities 
greatly interrupted his ministry. He married Agnes Hughart, and was the 
father of eleven children — " about the canonical number in that day." He 
died in 1818, and was buried at the Rocky Spring Church. His numerous 
descendants to the fourth generation remain staunch Presbyterians, and 
many of them have been, or are, office bearers in the church. 

With the call of Mr. Montgomery, it is important to observe that the 
names of the churches calling him disappear from the minutes of Donegal 
Presbytery. The exact facts which explain this disappearance are not dis- 
tinctly known. In May, 1755, the Synod of New York (New Side) erect- 
ed the Presbytery of Hanover, with boundaries not very clearly defined, 
but extending westward across the Blue Ridge, and providing ' 'that any of 
their members settling to the southward or westward of Mr. Hoge's con- 
gregation shall have liberty to join said Presbytery." Mr. Montgomery, 
when called to these churches in Frederick County in 1781, was a mem- 
ber of Hanover Presbytery; but instead of having his membership trans- 
ferred to the Presbytery of Donegal, the churches calling him — in some 
manner and at some time, of which we have no record — had their Presby- 
terial relations transferred to Hanover. When the Presbytery of Lexing- 
ton was erected, May, 1786, it was ordered that it be bounded on the 
north by the southern boundary of Carlisle Presbytery, which was formed 
at the same time by the division of Donegal. That southern boundary, 
however, was not defined ; nor the churches named that were to be em- 
braced in Lexington Presbytery; but Moses Hoge, - pastor of "Concrete," 
on the South Branch, and John Montgomery, pastor of Winchester, 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



37 



Opequon and Cedar Creek, are especially named as members. And when 
a successor to Mr. Montgomery was obtained he was dismissed from Han- 
over to Lexington Presbytery, which then asserted an undisputed claim to 
these churches. 

The removal of Mr. Montgomery from this charge left it vacant for 
but a short time, as a successor was soon secured in the person of the 
Rev. Nash Legrand. 

Mr. Legrand' s ancestors were Huguenots, who came to Virginia in the 
latter part of the seventeenth century. He was a native of Prince Edward 
County and a graduate of Hampden Sidney College in 1788, under the 
presidency of Rev. John Blair Smith. He had entered college to prepare 
for the medical profession, but was converted in the great revival of 1787-8, 
and at once consecrated himself to the work of the ministry. He pursued 
his studies to this end under the direction of Dr. Smith, and was licensed 
by the Presbytery of Hanover April 25, 1789. Immediately he began a 
career of great success as an evangelist, preaching in many fields, but 
spending the months of March and April of the next year in the charge 
over which he was afterward settled. He was then employed by the newly 
appointed ' ' Commission of Synod ' ' as their first missionary, and labored 
under their direction from June 1, 1790, to the first of October following, 
when, though strongly solicited to continue in this work, he resigned his 
commission and accepted a call from these churches in Frederick County 
in which he had already labored, and to which he now removed in the fall 
of 1790. He was ordained to the full work of the ministry by the Presbytery 
of Hanover April 5, 1791, at a meeting held in the Briery Church, in his 
native county, Prince Edward; and the following October was dismissed 
to the Presbytery of Lexington. He was never installed in the Opecquon 
field, though he continued his labors there with distinguished success for 
nineteen years, when impaired health compelled him to resign. In Octo- 
ber, 1809, he was dismissed by the Presbytery of Winchester to his old 
Presbytery of Hanover, within the bounds of which he continued to labor, 
as his health would allow, in vacant churches and destitute neighborhoods, 
but never again had he the stated charge of a congregation. 

About the year 1794, Mr. Legrand was united in marriage to an accom- 
plished lady, Margaret Holmes, a member of the Cedar Creek Church, and 
a sister of Governor David Holmes, of Mississippi; by this marriage he had 
five children, and was singularly happy in his home. Mrs. Legrand died 
sometime before he left Opecquon; and after his removal he married Mrs. 
Paulina Read, of Charlotte County, Va., on whose large estate he afterwards 



38 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



resided in the comforts of an ample fortune. He died in 1814, while on a 
visit to his old friends in Frederick County; and his unmarked grave is in 
the burying ground of his old Stone Church in Winchester. 

Dr. Foote, in his "Sketches of Virginia," Vol. I, pp. 530-543, gives an 
extended and most interesting sketch of the life, character, and ministry of 
Mr. Legrand, to which the reader is referred. In that sketch he is described 
as a remarkably handsome man, with dark brown hair, high forehead, open 
countenance, expressive eye, and melodious voice; tall and spare, yet well 
proportioned, graceful and easy of movement, and preposessing in manner. 
While inclined to taciturnity, and sometimes to a gloomy reserve, yet, in 
company that pleased him, his powers of conversation were extraordinary, 
abounding in wit, and amusing anecdote. His preaching was unusually 
attractive, though not distinguished for superior learning, finish of compo- 
sition, or force of reasoning. In these particulars he was far surpassed by 
many of his contemporaries, who yet fell far hehind him, both in popular- 
ity and usefulness. His comely person, graceful gestures, and especially 
the music and modulation of his voice, fitted him admirably for the pulpit, 
and attracted the attention of his hearers, without any special regard to the 
subject-matter of his discourse. But, in addition to this, the deep and all- 
pervading impressions of godliness with which his soul was imbued, cre- 
ated an atmosphere about him which all felt. He lived near to God, and 
uniformly enjoyed his religion. He excelled in prayer, as one who lived 
near the throne. He was always conscious of the presence of his Saviour. 
And in the pulpit all these things imparted such an unction to his sermons 
and exhortations, that few could hear him preach without feeling more or less 
conviction of sin. No minister of his day was so much sought after by men, 
or so much honored of God as Legrand. No wonder, then, that under his 
ministry Opecquon saw its best days. Delighted crowds attended his ser- 
vices; and under his pungent preaching the waning piety of God's people 
was rekindled, inquiry was awakened, and rich spiritual harvests were 
gathered. It was soon found that the House of Worship was not large 
enough for present requirements, and the old log building, which had 
already supplanted a smaller one, was taken down and the commodious stone 
church, which was destroyed by fire in 1873, was built; and on pleasant 
Sundays was filled from door to pulpit. 

In closing this account of the "Old Opecquon," it is interesting to 
state that in the early months of 1792, this church had another distinguish- 
ed visitor, whose "reminiscenses," if not so spicy as the "Diary" of Mr. 
Fithian, are at least as valuable. I quote from an unpublished manuscript 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



39 



of Rev. Archibald Alexander, D. D., in which he tells of his work in this 
Lower Valley immediately after his licensure in the old Presbyterian 
Church in Winchester: 

" After spending a week or two in Charlestown and vicinity, accord- 
ing to a promise made to Mr. Legrand, I returned to Frederick County 
and spent four weeks in supplying his place at Opekon, Winchester and 
Cedar Creek, x x In Opekon congregation a revival of religion had 
been in progress for some time. The good work extended also beyond 
the congregation to a populous but poor neighborhood called ' The Pines.' 
Here at a mill I held many meetings in the evening, where crowds of peo- 
ple, more than could be accommodated, came out. x x x The weeks 
which I spent at Opekon passed pleasantly. Besides the services of the 
Sabbath, we held a meeting every Tuesday afternoon at Major Gilkeson's, 
one of the elders at Opekon, and I must say that such meetings I never 
attended any where else; I mean that I never felt the Saviour's presence 
so sensibly; and this seemed to be the general impression." 




IIL BULLSKIN. 

Next in order, in the Records to which we have access, is the Bull- 
skin Church. The Bullskin is a tributary of the Shenandoah and a stream 
of considerable importance. The tradition is that this singular name had 
its origin in the fact that when the first settlers arrived there they found on 
the bank of the stream the hide of a buffalo bull of enormous size, 
stretched out to dry, the bull having been killed by a party of hunters, or 
possibly of Indians. The old church stood on the hill, about 150 yards 
north of the head spring of Bullskin, and on land now owned by Wm. M. 
Clements. Its ruins are still there, or were ar" a recent date. This spring, -£ 
which was jointly owned by the Reilys and Throckmorton's, is three- 
fourths of a mile south of Summit Point, in Jefferson County, W. Va., 
quite near the Summit Point and Berry ville turnpike, and the same dis- 
tance from the old Charlestown and Winchester road; 5 1-2 miles south- 
west of Aldridge; 7 1-2 west of Charlestown, and 3 1-2 northwest of Beu- 
lah. 

The first mention we find of Bullskin is in Donegal Records for April 



40 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



2, 1740. There Mr. Caven is ordered ' 'to visit Bullskin on the third Sab- 
bath of this inst." This minute would seem to indicate that the place was 
one with which the Presbytery was well acquainted. It is not spoken of 
as a new settlement, and there is nothing even to fix its location in Virginia 
save that Mr. Caven was directed to preach at "Upekin" the Friday be- 
fore going to Bullskin. It is mentioned as any other place already on 
their roll would be mentioned. There is reason to believe that Bullskin 
was not a new settlement in 1740, as Opecquon was in 1735-6. It was 
more than 20 miles nearer the fords of the Potomac, in a fertile and well- 
watered country ; and it is not reasonable to suppose that, if this country 
were still unoccupied, immigrants would have passed over it to settle on 
lands further away from civilization, and offering no superior advantages. 
It is difficult to resist the conviction that there were settlers on the Bullskin 
much earlier than these Records show. 

And yet in the Records themselves there is a minute which may throw 
possible light on this matter. In April, 1737, Presbytery "appointed 
Messrs. Anderson and Bertram to visit Virginia." The minute does not 
say to what part of Virginia they were to go, but intimations in other min- 
utes seem to justify the belief that they were sent to the people of this 
Lower Valley ; and if so, it is not at all improbable that they visited the 
Bullskin, and that their report to Presbytery prepared the way for those 
appointments of supplies, of which we begin to read in April, 1740, and 
which were afterwards made with such frequency. Before the long gap of 
fourteen years occurs through the loss of the Donegal Records, during 
which we are entirely ignorant of its history, Mr. Hynman (Hindman) 
first, and Mr. Caven later, were appointed to supply this church. From 
1759, through a period of more than twenty years, supplications for 
preaching ' 'from various places in Virginia' ' were made at each meeting of 
Presbytery. Sometimes the name of the church supplicating is given, and 
that of Bullskin occurs quite as often as any other. And while Mr. Vance, 
Mr. Alexander and others were specially sent to supply it, we find that 
Mr. Hoge, while still pastor of Opecquon, etc., was several times charged 
with a kind of general oversight "of all vacancies adjacent" to him, and 
with the special duty of supplying Bullskin. It is particularly noted that 
in April, 1767, Bullskin and Tuscarora united, and made specific request 
for the services of Mr. McCreary and Mr. Craighead. These young men 
had just been licensed by the Presbytery of New Castle ; and it is quite 
probable that the specific request for them was made in the hope of secur- 
ing the permanent settlement of one of them. Many years later, when 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



41 



Mr. McKnight had resigned the pastoral charge of Elk Branch, "Bullskin 
and Cool Spring (Gerardstown) made supplication for Mr. McKnight as a 
stated supply till the next meeting of Presbytery with a view to calling 
him as pastor." This was in April, 1783, and while the application was 
not successful, for Mr. McKnight accepted a call from a church in Penn- 
sylvania, the minute is interesting as containing the last mention of Bullskin 
in our Ecclesiastical Records. Before this, for a dozen years or so, in- 
stead of the simple name of Bullskin, the expression "Head of Bullskin," 
or "Head Waters of Bullskin" is used when this church is referred to. 
The reason for this is not clear ; and, in fact, the whole history of the 
church is involved in a good deal of obscurity. Whether there ever was a 
properly organized church there is itself somewhat uncertain. The name 
does not appear upon any roll that I have seen, either of Donegal or Car- 
lisle Presbytery. But if the people on the Bullskin were never organized 
as a church, they certainly were organized for worship ; and whatever may 
have been the character of their organization, it was efficient . in procur- 
ing for them, with great frequency, through a period of fifty years, the 
ordinances of the Gospel. It does not appear that a minister was ever set- 
tled among them, though on more than one accasion they made an effort 
to secure a pastor; yet they displayed such zeal in asking for supplies that 
they seem not to have been for any long time without the ministry of the 
Word. 

That such a church should cease to exist is accounted for by the fact, 
that services began to be held at other more central points, which gradually 
drew away the members from the old place of worship. Charlestown, 
Smithfield, and perhaps Berry ville, as growing villages, required stated 
preaching; and at length — we do not know at what date — the old place of 
worship at the head of Bullskin was abandoned, and the house crumbled 
into ruins. 

Before this occurred, however, an event of great importance to the 
interests of our church in that whole region took place. This was the 
call and settlement, in 1791, of Rev. William Hill as pastor of Charles- 
town and Smithfield churches ; who, during a part, if not the whole of 
his ministry in Jefferson County, continued to hold stated meetings at 
Bullskin. The history of Mr. Hill's ministry in the field will be given 
later in connection with our sketch of Charlestown church. 

It is a fact of no little interest, that it was at Bullskin that the Rev. 
Dr. Archibald Alexander began his authorized ministry and preached his 
first sermon after his licensure in Winchester, October 1, 1791. As he 



42 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



told the writer of this sketch, in his last interview with him only six weeks 
before his death, he had engaged to fill Mr. Hill's appointments for a few 
weeks ; and on Monday, October 3, he left Winchester in company with 
Rev. Mr. Legrand, and late that afternoon reached the house of old Mr. 
Reily at the head Spring of Bullskin. He had been a guest there a few 
months before on his way both to and from the General Assembly in 
Philadelphia, of which Assembly he was a member as a Ruling Elder 
from Lexington Presbytery. At that time he had been treated with mark- 
ed kindness by this family. They supplied him with a horse, when his 
own was foundered, and so enabled him to continue his journey. Though 
his coming now was unannounced, both he and Mr. Legrand were heartily 
welcomed ; and Mrs. Reily at once insisted that they must have preaching 
that night. Notice was sent out and at the hour appointed the house was 
filled. To the utter surprise and consternation of the young licentiate who 
was then but nineteen years of age, when the services began, Mr. Legrand, 
without previous intimation, required Mr. Alexander to conduct them and 
to preach. At first he was overwhelmed with alarm and confusion ; but 
when he recovered his composure he was enabled to preach with a great deal 
of comfort to himself, and, we can readily imagine, to the great delight of 
his hearers. The deep impression that incident made upon him was evi- 
dent from the manner in which the old man related it to the writer sixty 
years after its occurrence. 




IV. SOUTH BRANCH (Concrete). 

Among the many surprises we meet in our inquiries touching the Plant- 
ing of Presbyterianism within our bounds, none, perhaps, is greater than 
its early date in the Valley of the South Branch. In the Records of Done- 
gal for December 11, 1740, mention is made of a congregation of our faith 
and order already waiting there to receive the ordinances of the Gospel. 
The minute reads, " Mr. Caven is ordered to supply at Marsh Creek (i. e., 
Gettysburg) and South Branch, at his discretion, till our next." The dis- 
tance from each other of the two places here named is so great as to sug- 
gest at first that among the rivers of Pennsylvania was a stream called the 
" South Branch;" but all doubt on this score is dismissed, when we find 
in the minutes of the next meeting of Presbytery (May 30, 1741), that "a 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 43 



supplication ' ' for supplies was brought in and read from ' ' the South Branch 
of the Potomac. ' ' From what particular part of the South Branch this "sup- 
plication" came is not specified, but the subsequent history clearly identifies 
it with that section above the " Trough," now known as the Moorefield 
Valley. That there should have been a Presbyterian settlement there large 
enough to claim the attention of Presbytery as early as 1740 is a little 
remarkable. That Valley is so secluded, and was so far removed at that 
time from other white settlements and, therefore, so peculiarly exposed to 
attacks from the savages, that it seems like an act of recklessness for peo- 
ple voluntarily to place themselves in such peril. An explanation is prob- 
ably found in the fact that many of these settlers sustained specially friendly 
relations to such Indians as were in a position to molest them. 

There is an old and undisputed tradition, now accepted as history, that 
long before settlers had gathered in any large numbers in the Shenandoah 
Valley, John Howard and his son penetrated these mountain solitudes and 
discovered the charming South Branch Valley; then, crossing the moun- 
tains, they descended the Ohio and Mississippi, in a skiff of their own 
construction, and at last, after a thrilling series of adventures, they found 
themselves in London, and reported their discoveries to Lord Fairfax, the 
proprietor of the Northern Neck. Sometime after Howard's visit, the tra- 
dition (or history) continues, John Van Meter, of New Jersey, who, as a 
trader, had ingratiated himself with the Indians, accompanied a war party 
of the Delawares on an expedition to the South, against the Catawbas. 
Their march was up the South Branch Valley, giving Van Meter a fine 
opportunity to acquaint himself with that wonderfully rich and attractive 
country. Returning home, he described that Valley as "the finest body 
of land he had ever seen," and advised his sons to settle there. One of 
them took his advice. Visiting the country about 1736, he obtained a "toma- 
hawk title " to the land immediately above the Trough, where Fort Pleas- 
ant was afterwards built, and returned to New Jersey for his family. 
When, after a year or two, he, with several of his friends and their fami- 
lies, came again to the South Branch, he found that its value had become 
known to others, probable through Howard's report, and that a consider- 
able body of emigrants had already settled there. The name of Van Meter 
proved a protection to them all, and the increase in population was rapid. 

The Van Meters were of Dutch origin, as were probable all who came 
to the South Branch under their auspices. Their church affiliations were 
naturally with the Dutch Reformed; and very early in the settlement of 
that Valley the Dutch Reformed Classis of New Jersey sent its missionaries 



\ 



44 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



to them, and to others of their faith and order in the adjacent vallies, par- 
ticularly to Patterson's Creek. It seems, however, that those who pre- 
ceded the Van Meters, as well as those who joined them soon afterward, 
were chiefly of Scotch-Irish stock and, therefore, Presbyterians. And 
either because these were superior to their Dutch neighbors in numbers and 
zeal; or, which is most likely, because Donegal Presbytery possessed supe- 
rior facilities for reaching them and supplying their spiritual wants, the 
Presbyterian Church was the one which obtained the earlier and firmer 
foothold in that Valley. We have no continuous history of its growth, yet 
some interesting data are at hand. 

When, at the meeting of the Presbytery, May 30, 1741, supplies were 
asked for from the South Branch of the Potomac, we are not told who was 
sent; but at the next meeting, in October, we read that the appointments 
were fulfilled. 

At that same meeting, October 9, 1741, we find this suggestive min- 
ute: " Pursuant to several supplications from several places of the back 
parts of Virginia, requesting supplies during the winter and, if possible, for 
an ordained minister, Presbytery agreed that Mr. Alexander McDowell 
should be ordained sine titulo, in order to itinerate sine tempore in Virginia." 
Now, while the expression "the back parts of Virginia," as found in our 
Ecclesiastical Records, undoubtedly means the Upper Valley as distin- 
guished from the Lower, it is not improbable that in this case it is meant 
to include the South Branch, which was far to the west and south of those 
points, near the familiar fords of the Potomac, which the Presbytery was 
accustomed to supply; and as the itinerancy of Mr. McDowell was without 
limitation of time, he might very well have visited that congregation on his 
way to or from Augusta. 

Here the unfortunate gap, from the loss of the Donegal Records, 
occurs. But in the Records of the Old-Side Synod of Philadelphia, for 
May 23, 1751, this important minute is found: " Ordered, that Mr. Craig 
[of Augusta County, Va.] supply x x x the South Branch, and 
places adjacent, three Sabbaths before our next." This minute is inter- 
esting, not only as showing (as just suggested) that the South Branch may 
have been reckoned as in " the back parts of Virginia, ' ' because it was 
those " parts " especially that the Synod was arranging to supply; but also 
because it informs us that there were then other places ' ' adjacent ' ' to the 
South Branch that were becoming Presbyterian centers. 

Our next minute is of more interest, as showing growth and zeal among 
these people: "April, 1768, supplications were received from the South 



* 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 45 

Branch of the Potomac; and for an ordained minister to assist in forming 
them into a regular congregation." In answer to this request Rev. John 
Roan was sent. While we have no report from him, it is safe to assume 
that his mission was fulfilled, and that we may date from this period (1768) 
the first regular organization of a church in that Valley; to which the singu- 
lar name of " Concrete" was given. 

From a minute dated October, 1768, it would appear that Presbyte- 
rianism was beginning to take root nearer the mouth of the South Branch, 
as " a number of places in Hampshire County supplicated for supplies;" 
and the next spring, April, 1769, "supplies were called for from various 
places on the South Branch of the Potomac." 

From this time for more than a dozen years there is no mention of the 
South Branch in the Donegal Records. But this does not mean that the 
church had ceased to exist, or had lost its zeal for Gospel ordinances. For 
apart from the fact that during the stormy period that led up to and em- 
braced the War of the Revolution, a general commission to look after and 
supply vacancies had been given to some of the ministers, particularly to 
Mr. Hoge after his release from the Opecquon field ; it must be remem- 
bered that when Hanover Presbytery was erected by the Synod of New 
York in 1755, it was given jurisdiction over all the territory south and west 
of Mr. Hoge's charge. This included the Moorefield Valley, to which, 
however, Donegal, a warm adherent of the Old-Side Synod, never surren- 
dered its claim. Hanover sometimes sent its missionaries to the South 
Branch, but its Records throw very little light upon its relations to that field. 
When the Presbytery of Lexington was constituted by the Synod of New 
York and Philadelphia in 1786, this church with its pastor, Rev. Moses Hoge, 
was assigned to it. 

A new era in the history of this church began when Moses Hoge was 
providentially led to settle among them. He had been licensed in 1781, and 
the next year, before going to Kentucky, or on his way there, he was induced 
to delay his journey for a time in order to preach for the people of this Val- 
ley. They were so much pleased with his services and importuned him so 
earnestly to remain with them, that after long hesitation he relinquished his 
purpose of going West, and concluded to remain with the South Branch 
people to whom he had become so strongly attached. 

Having decided to stay with the people of Hardy County, Mr. Hoge 
remained in that field until the autumn of 1787; when, because of the effect 
of the climate upon his health and to the great sorrow of his people, he 
removed to Shepherdstown. He was devoted to his church and gave to the 



46 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



people of South Branch a ministry of surpassing ability and value, the power 
of which was long felt in all that region. His home was in Moorefield, and 
the log house in which he resided was standing within the memory of some 
now living. During his residence there he taught a school, which not only 
contributed to his support, otherwise inadequate, but secured to the youth 
of South Branch educational advantages of a very superior character. 

After the removal of Mr. Hoge, this church was supplied for a time 
by the Rev. Mr. Jennings. Just when his ministry here began and how 
long it continued, we have no means of determining. While Rev. William 
Hill was engaged in the service of the "Missionary Commission" of the 
Virginia Synod, he visited "Moorefield, in Hardy County, and preached a 
few sermons there in the absence of Dr. Jennings, the successor of Mr. 
Hoge." This was in September, 1791, and this extract from Mr. Hill's 
Journal is all that we know of the ministry of Mr. Jennings on the South 
Branch. He was, we suppose, the Rev. Jacob Jennings, father of the distin- 
guished Obadiah Jennings, D. D., who was pastor in Nashville, Tenn., 
and died there January 12, 1832. He (the father) was born in New Jer- 
sey in 1744, studied medicine and practiced his profession until about 40 
years of age, when he turned his attention to theology. It is believed 
that he entered the ministry in connection with the Reformed Dutch 
Church. And this suggests the probability that he came to Virginia in 
the interests of that church to look after those of their own lineage, who were 
scattered in considerable numbers through these valleys, and not a few of 
whom were to be found on the South Branch. He resided for several 
years in Virginia, and we are inclined to believe that a large part of that 
time was passed at Moorefield. Some months after Mr. Hill's visit he 
removed to Western Pennsylvania, and in April, 1792, was received "from 
the Low Dutch Church" as.a member of Redstone Presbytery, and died in 
its service February 17, 1813. 

Of this church we know nothing more until after the organization of 
Winchester Presbytery, save that at that organization the "Concrete 
Church" was reported "vacant, but able to support a pastor." 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



47 



V. CEDAR CREEK, 

This, by universal consent, is one of our oldest churches, though its 
name does not appear in existing records until May 18, 1768. In the Rec- 
ords of the Synod of New York of that date is this minute: "A supplication 
for supplies, and particularly for the opportunity of a probationer, from 
Cedar Creek and Opecquon was brought into Synod." There is a much 
earlier minute in the Records of Donegal for 1736, which says that appli- 
cation for the services of Rev. Samuel Gelston was laid before Presbytery 
"from both sides of the Opecquon." If this expression means, as we 
believe it does, Opecquon proper, and Cedar Creek, then, without the 
mention of the name, we have here a distinct reference to the Cedar Creek 
Church. Opecquon and Cedar Creek were closely associated for nearly a 
hundred years, and as they are situated on different sides of the Opecquon 
Creek, the two, when spoken of together, may properly be designated as 
" both sides of the Opecquon." 

The location of this church, as the name indicates, is on Cedar Creek, 
an important tributary of the Shenandoah. It is nine or ten miles south- 
west .of the Opecquon Church, and about seven miles west of Stephens- 
burg, now called " Stephens City." Its earliest settlement was by some 
families that came to this Valley with Joist Hite in 1732, who were re-en- 
forced after two or three years by others who came with Samuel Glass. 
Hite himself was probably not a Presbyterian, but several of those who 
came with him probably were, as their names indicate a Scotch- Irish origin. 
True to their religious and ecclesiastical instincts, one of their first efforts 
was to provide a church of their own faith and order. And as these set- 
tlers on Cedar Creek had intimate relations with those who settled on the 
Opecquon, they naturally joined forces 'n their efforts to secure for them- 
selves the ordinances of the Gospel. Up to the time of the organization 
of Winchester Presbytery, and for many years after, these two settlements 
are invariably united in their church relations; so that the history of Opec- 
quon, as we have given it, is substantially the history of Cedar Creek. 
They were the same race of people; had the same tastes; held to the same 
views, and the preacher that pleased the one was entirely satisfactory to 
the .other. The " supplication " that was intended to obtain a supply for 
the one, always included in it a supply for the other. Their history runs 
parellel from their origin to the close of Mr. Legrand's pastorate; and for 
the details of that history, during the period covered by this sketch, the 



48 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



reader is referred to what has been more fully written about Opecquon. 

Of the Sessional Records of the Cedar Creek Church for nearly a cen- 
tury not a scrap can be found. There is, however, a deed given by Lord 
Fairfax in 1762, during the pastora'.e of Rev. John Hoge, " conveying 100 
acres of land to William Vance, William Evans, James Coiville, James 
Hogg, and Andrew Blackburn, elders of the Presbyterian congregation [of 
Cedar Creek] and their successors, for building a meeting house thereon," 
etc. The House of Worship subsequently built on that land, we may 
assume, was the second one erected; and that it was afterward replaced 
by the stone edifice in which the church worships now. This old deed is 
of special interest as preserving the names of the members of the Session 
at that date. 

The first mention we find of this church in the Records of Donegal, 
is in connection with its failure to meet its obligations to its pastor — a failure 
which was shared by Opecquon. In their united call to Mr. Hoge he was 
promised an annual salary of £70; of which amount Opecquon was to pay 
£45 and Cedar Creek £25. These sums, we suppose, indicate the com- 
parative financial ability, as well as the membership, of the two congrega- 
tions. In November, 1761, Mr. Roan was directed to write to both 
churches, calling attention to the deficiency, and urging that it be paid. 
At the next meeting, April, 1762, we have a statement of their arrearages. 
That of Cedar Creek amounted to £41, 15s., 6d., while that of Opecquon 
amounted to £41, 19s. The churches promised to pay what was due, and 
yet their indebtedness to Mr. Hoge continued to be a matter of complaint 
in Presbytery for ten years ; and at last, in 1772, his pastoral relation was 
dissolved because of their failure to pay his salary. And yet, as these 
people manifested the greatest reluctance to part with their pastor, and as 
Mr. Hoge retained his home among them for several years and frequently 
preached for both churches, we must assume that their long indebtedness 
to him was the result of their own straitened circumstances, rather than of 
their unwillingness to meet their obligation. 

In the Records for October, 1768, appears a minute showing that un- 
friendly relations had arisen between Mr. Hoge and some of the most in- 
fluential people in the Cedar Creek church, which may account in part for 
their arrearages in salary. The minute is as follows: 

" Mr. Joseph Colvil accused Mr. Hoge before the Presbytery for 
having fraudulently obtained a judgment in Lord Fairfax's office, with re- 
spect to a caveat entered by Hoge against the claims of a certain Arthur 
McConnel to a tract of land ; as also that Mr. Hoge had laid said McCon- 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



49 



nel under 'unreasonable restraints in an article of agreement for said land ; 
and that Mr. Hoge had unjustly debarred him, the said Colvil, from 
church privileges. * 

" Upon a full hearing of the case the Presbytery declared Mr. Hoge 
acquitted of all the charges." 

It was during the vacancy in this church that the young licentiate, Mr. 
Fithian, paid his visit to this region and preached both at Opecquon and 
Cedar Creek. He spent several days visiting among the people, and noting 
in his famous Journal everything that interested him. Stephensburg 
he describes as "a small village, well situated. Four taverns in the town 
and one store kept by Captain Holmes, where I am to lodge." He met 
many prominent people of the neighborhood. "Major Stephens, the pro- 
prietor of the town. " "Mr. Wilson, an Opecquon Elder, a plain able 
farmer, very old and stout, a full and strong example that the place is 
healthy." "Mr. Whitehead, living on a lovely farm, a mile from town ; 
an old, gray-headed bachelor and a Yorkshire Englishman." "Col. Isaac 
Zane, possessor of the noted Marlboro Iron Works ; a man of first rank, 
both in property and office ; and a patriot of fiery temper." Col. Hite, 
whose "general characteristics are wealth and honesty. He entertained 
us merrily with humor, toddy and music." But of the church itself he 
writes : 

" Sunday, June 4. Cedar Creek Church, six miles from Stephens- 
burg, northwest. All here are full Quakers. I preached twice ; the as- 
sembly very attentive. I made very little use of my notes, which is a vast, 
almost essential recommendation here. Preach without papers ; produce 
casuistic divinity ; seem earnest and serious, and you will be listened to 
with patience and wonder. Both your hands will be seized, and almost 
shook off so soon as you are out of the church, and you will be claimed 
by half of the society to honor them with your company after sermon. 
Read your sermons, and if they be sound and sententious as Witherspoon's, 
copious and fluent as Harvey's, and read off with the ease and dignity of 
Davies, their backs will be up at once, their attention all gone, their noses 
will grow as red as their wigs ; and (let me whisper this) you may get 
your dinner where you breakfasted. 'Please keep your seats,' said an old 
gray-headed gentleman when worship was concluded. He took off his 
hat and made a collection. Well, I must go home with this venerable prop 
of the church. His wife is old and flaxen-haired as he. Both are hearty, 
lusty and nimble. In this happy condition of life and friendship, by Hy- 
men's blessing, they have lived together fifty-five years. They have three 



50 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



daughters at home, virgins, and well risen in years. Have some books, 
much poultry. Mr. Colville lives within four miles of the North Mountain 
on the bank of Cedar Creek. 

"Monday, June 5. We breakfasted heartily and soundly on the rich- 
est products of a fat farm. Boiled milk, highly buttered, and fine cheese 
of two kinds, one made last summer and the other last week. We passed 
one freeman talking politicks and religion. These good people are full 
warm for election and reprobation in its strictest sense. Mr. Colville gave 
me yesterday's collection. I am gratified to find that when the number at 
church was so small so many remembered me. There were thirty-four 
pieces of silver in cut money, quarters of dollars, pistareens and half bits. 
The whole donation for the two sermons was three dollars (£1, 2s., 6d.). 
After dinner we visited old Mrs. Sarah Vance." 

It was within the bounds of the Cedar Creek Church that Dr. Moses 
Hoge was born and reared. His father was the James Hoge whose name 
is in the deed of Lord Fairfax to this congregation and whom the deed 
desiginated as one of the Elders of the church. His home was near Mid- 
dletown, on the great road from Winchester to Staunton. As a man of 
vigorous intellect and devoted piety, he probably was not inferior to any in 
that large Hoge connection, so many of whom have been distinguished 
both in church and State. Dr. Archibald Alexander regarded him as one 
of the most intellectual men he had ever met. He visited him in his home 
in 1791, where he was detained for several days, and writes of him in his 
autobiography: "We stopped at Mr. Solomon Hoge's, the brother of 
Moses, where also his aged father resided. Though eighty-four years of 
age, his intellect was in full vigor and he delighted in theological discus- 
sion. He gave me a narrative of the state of the Presbyterian Church in 
Pennsylvania during his youth. He informed me that as soon as he was 
twenty-one years of age, he carefully read every article of the Westminster 
Confession of Faith to see if he could adopt the whole; which he was able 
freely and deliberately to do. He was now in connection with the Seceder 
Church. He did not tell me how this came about; but some years after- 
wards, Dr. Hoge told me that his father left the Presbyterian Church on 
account of the "Adopting Act," which permitted candidates to make excep- 
tions when adopting the Confession. I do not know that I ever got so much 
instruction from any one in the same time as from this old gentleman. 
Difficulties which I had about some points, he entirely removed to my 
satisfaction. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



51 



VI. TUSCARORA- 

The church with whose name we next meet is " The Old Tuscarora." 
This church is about two miles west of Martinsburg, on the Tuscarora 
Creek, from which it takes its name. This creek rises at the eastern base 
of the North Mountain, flows through Martinsburg, and, a few miles east 
of that city, empties into the Opecquon. It is one of the important water 
courses of Berkeley County. 

That the name of this church does not appear in any existing Eccle- 
siastical Records until April 6, 1760, will excite some surprise, as the 
accepted local tradition is that its existence precedes that date by at least 
fifteen, if not twenty, years. Henry Howe, in his " Historical Collections 
of Virginia," claims " that the spot on which the Tuscarora Meeting House 
now stands, is the first place where the Gospel was publicly preached, and 
Divine worship performed, west of the Blue Ridge." This claim can 
hardly be sustained; and yet the strong probability is, that Tuscarora is 
one of the oldest churches in the Valley of the Shenandoah. That we have 
no mention of it until 1760 is due, no doubt, to the loss of Presbyterial 
Records of the preceding fourteen years. The lands along the Tuscarora 
are among the finest in Berkeley County, and were taken up and occupied 
at an early date, and largely by the Scotch-Irish. And it can hardly be 
questioned that if that lost volume of the Donegal Records could be recov- 
ered, it would be found that the Presbyterian people on that creek had 
organized themselves for public worship, and were in possession of Gospel 
ordinances not later than 1745 — the . latest date that tradition assigns. It 
was evidently an established place of worship of considerable importance 
when we first meet with the name. Not only are supplies regularly ap- 
pointed, but it would appear that an elder, or commissioner, was sent to 
Presbytery to ask for these supplies in person. We take this to be the 
meaning of the minute of October 21, 1760, when, instead of the usual 
expression that ' ' supplication was sent, "or " supplication was received 
and read," the minute is that "verbal supplication from Tuscarosa " was 
made for supplies. 

The next minute, April 28, 1762, is still more significant as to the 
strength this church had already attained. It reads that " the congrega^ 
tions of Tuscarora in Virginia and Falling Waters supplicate for supplies, 
and for laborers for some time to come," showing a growing discontent with 
a system that sent them supplies only rarely, and at long intervals and for 



52 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



short periods. In response to this unusual request Mr. Hoge was ordered 
to supply them nine Sabbaths, and Mr. Roan to assist him during the 
month of August. 

From this date (1762) until 1771 supplications for supplies for Tusca- 
rora in Virginia are made at nearly every stated meeting of Presbytery, and 
at some of the adjourned meetings also; and in answer to these requests, 
Presbytery appointed for a longer or shorter term, and with greater or less 
frequency, the following supplies, viz.: Messrs. McGan, Roan, Slemmons, 
Cooper, Craighead, Alexander, McCreary, Hoge, Balch, Lewis, Lang, 
Vance, Thompson, Duffield and Rhea. 

In October, 1765, the church made special application for the serv- 
ices of Licentiate Robert Cooper, with a view to his settlement among 
them. He had just been licensed, was a young man of great promise, 
and was aftenvards known as one of the distinguished men of the church. 
This application was not successful. 

Eighteen months later their attention was turned to another young 
man, JMr. John McCreary, who had just been licensed by the Presbytery of 
New Castle; and Donegal Presbytery was asked (April, 1767 ) to secure 
him for Tuscarora, with a view to his settlement as pastor. A year later, 
April, 1768, this effort was renewed; the church asked leave of its Pres- 
bytery to apply to New Castle Presbytery for a part of Mr. McCreary' s 
time, and liberty was given it to prosecute a call for this minister; but this 
effort also resulted in failure. 

In connection with the appointment of Rev. Hezekiah James Balch to 
supply Tuscarora, May 20, 1769, the following incident is worthy of men- 
tion as showing the spirit of the age. Mr. Balch had recently been mar- 
ried, and he was now arraigned before his Presbytery for allowing his mar- 
riage to be solemnized "by an English established minister." When re- 
quired to answer to this accusation Mr. Balch humbly confessed his fault 
before Presbytery, and then stood up, and was censured in due form by Mr. 
Roan, the moderator. 

After many failures to obtain a pastor, Tuscarora at length called Mr. 
Hugh Vance. Mr. Vance was received as a candidate by Donegal Pres- 
bytery, April 11, 1769, and was put upon his "trials," and licensed to 
preach August 30 of the same year. He was appointed several times to 
preach at Tuscarora, and his preaching was so acceptable that in October, 
1770, a call from the United churches of Tuscarora and Falling Waters 
was laid before Presbytery, placed in his hands and accepted. On Tues- 
day, August 21, 1771, the Presbytery met at the Tuscarora Church and 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 53 

ordained him to the full work of the ministry, and installed him pastor of 
the Tuscarora and Falling Waters churches. 

This minute (August 21, 1771) gives us an important date in the his- 
tory of Presbyterianism in Virginia. That was the first meeting of Donegal 
Presbytery south of the Potomac River, and the pastorate then constituted 
was the second one formed within our Presbyterial bounds. The one first 
formed (in the Opecquon field) ended the next year, viz: 1772. 

Of the Rev. Hugh Vance not very much is now known, beyond the 
fact that he was pastor of the Tuscarora church for twenty years. He was 
born in 1736, and probably in Pennsylvania. It is said, though the state- 
ment is not confirmed, that he was of the family of Vances that came to 
this Valley in 1735, or 6, with Glass, Colvin, White and others. It does 
not seem that he was ever much distinguished as a preacher, or that he wield- 
ed any great influence as a presbyter. Yet he was very highly respected 
by his brethren in the ministry and beloved as a pastor. He was indus- 
trious and zealous in his work, faithful to his duty in his own charge, and 
always ready to give his services to destitute points around him, whether 
far or near. We find him on at least one occasion (1773 or 4) making a 
journey across the Alleghanies in the interest of the church — an undertak- 
ing at that day of no little risk and hardship. Mr. Fithian, who visited 
him May 20, 1775, and received from him "liberty to visit and preach in 
the neighboring vacancies," says of him, that "he lived at the foot of the 
North Mountain ; partakes, I believe, of the Virginia spirit, and hands 
round the sociable bowl." As to his personal appearance, a contemporary 
and relative of his, whom I personally knew, Mr. Adam Sanaker, who 
lived near Gerrardstown, described him as "a tall, spare man, and very 
weakly." When Rev. William Hill visited him in September, 1791, he 
found him "on the borders of the grave, in the last stages of consumption." 
And yet when Mr.. Hill preached the next day at Tuscarora he says "Mr. 
Vance rode out and lay in one of the pews while I preached." He died 
December 31, 1791, and his remains are buried in the old grave yard at 
Tuscarora. 

There is some confusion in the Presbyterial Record touching Mr. 
Vance's pastorate, which leaves us in much uncertainty as to the pastoral 
relation he actually held. In the minute (October, 1771) which records 
his ordination, it is also said that he was installed pastor of Tuscarora and 
Falling Waters. But in a previous minute (October, 1770) his call is said 
to have come from Falling Waters and Back Creek. Then in the History 
of Carlisle Presbytery, by Dr. Norcross, he is mentioned as pastor of Tus- 



54 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 

carora and Back Creek ; and during the whole period of his twenty years 
ministry in Berkeley County. Falling Waters is continually asking and 
obtaining supplies from Presbytery as if vacant. But this is a matter that 
belongs properly to the Falling Waters church, and the facts in the case 
will be more fully stated in the sketch of that church. That Mr. Vance 
was pastor of Tuscarora is not open to doubt. His residence was always 
within the bounds of that church. 

The year after Mr. Vance's death (1792) "supplications were sent to 
Presbytery from Tuscarora for themselves, and on behalf of Martinsburg 
and Back Creek;" and the next year (April, 1793) Tuscarora and Falling 
Waters unite in a call for the Rev. John Boyd, who is ordered to supply 
these two churches until the next meeting. At the next meeting, October, 
1793, the call was placed in his hands and accepted. In April (9, 1794) 
he was ordained and installed pastor of Tuscarora and Falling Waters, and 
remained in charge of these two churches until April 16, 1801, when his 
pastoral relation was dissolved, and two years afteward he was dismissed 
to the Presbytery of New Brunswick. 

When the Presbytery of Winchester was erected (1794) the Tusca- 
rora church, though not included in the organization, was probably one of 
the strongest in this Valley. After some years its strength was greatly 
reduced by the colony set off to form the Martinsburg church, and also by 
the emigration of its members. Of late, however, it has been much re- 
vived under the able ministry of Rev. Dr. F. M. Woods. The old stone 
building, in which they have long worshipped, was erected in 1803. . 




VII- BACK CREEK, 

The Back Creek Valley lies between the Little and Big North Moun- 
tains, in the western parts of Berkeley and Frederick counties. The stream 
from which it derives its name rises in southwestern Frederick, runs a 
northerly course for fifty miles or more and empties into the Potomac. 
The Valley is very beautiful, and early attracted the emigrants who were 
seeking homes south of the Potomac River ; many of them choosing the 
smooth lands along this creek in preference to the strong limestone land 
in the Valley between the North Mountain and the Blue Ridge. During 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



55 



the Braddock war, however, they were so harrassed by the Indians that a 
large part of them recrossed the mountain and settled on Tuscarora and 
at Falling Waters, by which movement the churches planted at those 
places were materially strengthened. 

But many years before this migratory movement began, the settlers, 
who were largely of Presbyterian lineage and faith, had established a 
church in their own Valley. The location of this church was probably 
the same as that which for a century the Presbyterians on Back Creek 
have occupied, viz : on the west side of the creek, near Tomahawk Spring, 
about four miles southwest of Hedgesville, and perhaps seven or eight 
miles west of Martinsburg. The large stone building now in use is the one 
in which this congregation has worshipped for a century or more. 

The name of this church is first found in the same minute of Donegal 
Presbytery, in which the name of " Tuscarora in Virginia" first occurs, 
April 6, 1760 ; and, like Tuscarora, it appears then as a place accustomed 
to receive supplies, and where worship had been already established. That 
its name does not appear earlier is no doubt due, as in so many other 
cases, to the loss of the Records of the previous fourteen years. Tradi- 
tion is very explicit in assigning an early settlement to the Back Creek 
Valley, and largely by people of the Scotch-Irish race. 

In April, 1760, "Mr. Hoge is ordered to supply Back Creek;" and 
the next October (21, 1760) this church, through an Elder or Commis- 
sioner, sent to Presbytery for the purpose, makes ' ' a verbal supplication' ' 
for preaching ; and Mr. Hoge then, and on several subsequent occasions, 
is appointed their supply. For the following nine years Presbytery fur- 
nished this church repeatedly with supplies in connection with either Tus- 
carora or Falling Waters, with which churches its associations have always 
been intimate. 

In October, 1770, Mr. Hugh Vance, who had just been licensed, was 
appointed to supply Back Creek; and at the same meeting a call was laid 
before Presbytery from Back Creek and Falling Waters for Mr. Vance to 
become their pastor. While there is no direct statement in the Records 
that Mr. Vance was ever installed pastor of Back Creek, there is much 
indirect evidence that such was the fact. The historian of his Presbytery, 
Dr. Norcross, says that he was installed. In April, 1775, Mr. Lang is 
ordered by Presbytery to write to Back Creek church, urging it to pay 
the arrears due on Mr. Vance's salary; and the following June Mr. Fithian 
speaks of the Back Creek church as " Mr. Vance's Meeting House." It 
is quite certain that during the twenty years of Mr. Vance's pastorate in 



56 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



Berkeley County, he preached statedly to the Back Creek people, and was 
regarded by all, and he himself acted, as their pastor. During all that 
period no application from them goes up to Presbytery for supplies, but as 
soon as his death occurs (December 31, 1791) we find them (1792) as a 
vacant church, supplicating Presbytery for a preacher. 

The Ecclesiastical Records give very little information upon which 
even a conjecture can be based as to the prosperity and growth of any of 
those churches whose early history we are giving. But we have reason to 
believe that the Back Creek church during that period of planting was 
among the most prosperous in all this region. The Valley in which it was 
located possessed many attractions for the immigrant ; the rich bottom 
lands along the creek were early occupied and population rapidly increas- 
ed. The commodious and substantial house of worship, erected during, 
or soon after, the period under consideration, is itself suggestive. But the 
diary of Mr. Fithian throws positive light upon the subject, as showing 
both the size of the congregation and the membership of the church. He 
writes: 

" Sunday, June 18, 1775. Over the North Mountain I rode to Mr. 
Vance's meeting-house at Back Creek. The sacrament was administered. 
Ninety-three communicants. Vast assembly. This North Mountain is 
very high, at the top almost bare. The view below on each side is rich 
and beautiful. On each side we see ridges of hills, and ridges on ridges 
still succeed until you cross the Alleghany." 

It is gratifying to know that this fine old church, after a long period of 
disheartening depression and decay, has revived, and is started on a new 
career of active service in the cause of the Divine Master. 




VIIL CAPE CAPON. 

The name of this church, so unfamiliar to the present generation, 
appears for the first time in the Donegal Records April 29, 1761. The 
minute reads, "supplications were received from Opeckon, Cape Capon," 
and other places. The name undoubtedly refers to some place, not care- 
fully designated, on what is now known as the Capon River. This river is 
one of the important water courses of eastern Hampshire. It rises near 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



57 



Wardensville in Hardy County, flows northward, and empties into the 
Potomac near the dividing line between Morgan and Hampshire counties. 
The name is probably of Indian origin, and is said to mean " to appear," 
" to rise to view," "to be found again," or something expressive of such 
an idea; which is fairly descriptive of the stream itself, which has this 
remarkable peculiarity, that it starts as, a river, breaking from the base of 
the mountain as a large, full stream, of river-like proportions; while on the 
other side of the mountain is " Lost River," which, after flowing many 
miles, suddenly disappears near the base of the mountain; and, after flow- 
ing a distance of three or four miles underground, reappears on the other 
side of the mountain, and continues its course to the Potomac with the 
name of Capon. It is a very tortuous stream through most of its course. 
The distance from a given point on the river to its mouth, following its 
windings, is four times greater than by the country road. 

The name of this river, in the Records of Hampshire, is given in a 
great variety of ways — "Capon," " Cacapon," "Cape Capon," Capca- 
pon," " Cacapehon," " Capecacapon," " Capecacahepon, " and even in 
other ways. In the Donegal Records the name is " Cape Capon." 

Of the first settlement of the Capon Valley we have no definite infor- 
mation. Who the settlers were and when they came, we do not know. 
That many of them came immediately fro m Pennsylvania, and that most 
of them were Presbyterians, is very probable. Though their request for 
Gospel ordinances first appears in April, 1761, it is fair to suppose, from 
the style of the minute, and from its connection, that if we had access to 
earlier records, we would find that applications for supplies had been made 
at an earlier date. As it is seven years before there is any mention of the 
renewal of their application, the reasonable inference is, that some perma- 
nent arrangement was made for their supply — perhaps through that general 
oversight of vacancies entrusted to Mr. Hoge; or by the coming of an 
evangelist who remained for some time with them. Anyhow, it is almost 
certain that in this interval of seven years they were pretty well supplied 
with the means of grace, and were strengthened in numbers; for in their 
next application to Presbytery (April, 1768) they do not ask for an ordi- 
nary supply, but for ' ' an ordained minister, who shall assist in forming 
them into a regular congregation." And Mr. Roan was sent to perform 
this important service for them. 

It is not likely that any body of people would have felt justified in 
taking a step of such importance, unless their numbers were considerable, 
and their habits of worship well established. And this leads us to ask, 



58 



THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIAN ISM 



with more interest than we would otherwise feel, on what part of Capon River 
this zealous Presbyterian settlement was found? The very next mention of 
these people helps us to this information. Only six months after they ask 
for a church organization, viz.: October, 1768, " Mr. Hoge is appointed to 
supply Forks of Cape Capon." This designates a well-known location 
with great exactness. It is where the North River, its chief tributary; 
empties into the Capon. This is some twenty or twenty-five miles in an 
air line from its mouth, though over ninety miles as the course of the river 
is followed. This is one of the most attractive points along the river; 
where the bottom lands are broad and very productive. Near it are excel- 
lent mill-seats, which have been utilized, and rich ore beds, which have 
for a long time been worked. It is here that Braddock's famous military 
road from Winchester to Cumberland crosses the Capon River. 

The next spring, April, 1769, supplies were again asked for by this 
church; after which no direct mention is made of it for several years; but 
frequent mention is made of supplies being sent to ' ' several places in 
Hampshire;" and Mr. Waugh and Mr. McKnight are specially named at 
different times as these supplies. It may safely be assumed that Cape 
Capon was included in their mission. During the War of the Revolution a 
permanent ' ' Committee on Supplies ' ' was appointed by Presbytery, with 
special reference, apparently, to the vacancies and destitutions south of the 
Potomac; and in the services of that committee this church no doubt shared. 

Its name appears for the last time in the Donegal Records under date 
of April, 1781, and of its subsequent history we know really nothing. If, 
like some other churches once flourishing, it became so reduced by emigra- 
tion that it finally died out, we do not know when its existence ceased. 
Within the memory of persons now living, an old Presbyterian church stood 
in the Forks of Capon; and some of the descendants of the old members 
of that church are in that region still. The business interests of that sec- 
tion of Hampshire County, which a hundred years ago were centered at 
the Forks of Capon, gradually drifted eastward four miles to Bloomery 
Mills, where, in the early part of this century, our present church of 
Bloomery was organized, which is really the successor of the old church 
at the Forks. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



59 



IX* FALLING WATERS* 

This church at an early period was ranked, as it is today, among the 
stronger ones of this region ; and as its location was near one of the prin- 
cipal fords of the Potomac, we would naturally expect to find it named 
quite early in the history of the Valley churches. It is a little surprising, 
then, that we do not meet with its name until April 28, 1762 ; and that, in 
the records to which we have access, the names of eight other congrega- 
tions precede it, some of them, then and now, of minor importance. Its 
comparatively late appearance is accounted for, as in several other cases, 
by the loss of the Records, in which we are quite certain the name of this 
church would have been found. 

The accepted tradition is, that about the year 1745 a Presbyterian 
congregation, composed largely of Irish immigrants, was formed at Lower 
Falling Waters, in Berkeley County, and that towards the close of that 
century their house of worship was removed to a point about three miles 
east of where the Falling Waters church now stands. This was about seven 
miles north of Martinsburg, and not far from the ford by which so many 
of the early immigrants found their way into the Shenandoah Valley. 
Everything in the appearance of the country and in the quality of the land 
invited them to make their homes in that neighborhood ; and, true to their 
religious training, their own cabins were hardly built until a place was pro- 
vided in which God should be worshipped. That they had been organized 
for such worship sometime before they are introduced to us in the Presby- 
terial Records, and that they had already grown to some importance is in- 
dicated by the fact that at their first mention they are presented to us as 
dissatisfied with the prevailing methods of sending supplies to each church, 
for only one or two Sabbaths at a time, and these at long intervals. This 
church asks for supplies, but is explicit in the statement that it wants "la- 
borers," not for a Sabbath or two, but "for some time to come." And 
while it is not certain that they enjoyed the ministrations of the Word for 
any great length of time during the next twenty-five years, yet it is evident 
that they faithfully tried to have their pulpit supplied as frequently and 
for as long periods as possible during that time. 

For nearly a decade after its name first appears, Falling Waters is a 
frequent and zealous applicant to Presbytery for supplies ; and Messrs. 



60 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



Hoge, Balch, Lewis, Lang, Thomas, Slemons, Vance, Rhea and others 
were sent them, and some of them were sent often. 

In 1771 Mr. Hugh Vance, recently licensed, was settled as pastor of 
Tuscarora ; but as we have already stated (pp. 53 and 54) there is very 
great confusion in the Records as to the relations of Falling Waters to this 
pastorate. It is first stated, October, 1770, "Mr. Hugh Vance is called to 
be pastor of Falling Waters and Back Creek." Then, in August, 1771, 
the minute states Presbytery ordained Mr. Hugh Vance and installed him 
pastor of Tuscarora and Falling Waters ; but no mention is made of Back 
Creek. And yet in the history of Donegal and Carlisle Presbyteries by 
Dr. Norcross, Mr. Vance is named as pastor of Tuscarora and Back Creek 
from August 21, 1771, to December 31, 1791. That Mr. Vance had no 
pastoral relation to Falling Waters seems to be sustained by the fact, that 
but two months after his installation, Mr. Lang is ordered to supply Falling 
Waters the second Sabbath in November, and Mr. Rhea the fourth Sab- 
bath. The next year these two ministers were again appointed to supply 
this church; and in April, 1773, " Falling Waters and Elk Branch ask for 
a supply to be equally divided between them," and Mr. Lang is sent as a 
supply. Among the supplies which Presbytery continues to send, Mr. 
Vance himself is named in April, 1775. And yet at that same meeting 
Mr. Vance speaks of this church as his; he reports ' ' that his congregations, 
Falling Waters and Tuscarora, had given £5 for the aid of candidates." 
And the pastoral claim, which he here seems to make, is in full agreement 
with the belief long current in Berkeley County. We are not able to offer 
any solution of the difficulty which these discrepancies present, unless it is 
found in the fact (if it be a fact) that names have gotten mixed, and that 
Falling Waters was written, when Back Creek was really intended. If this 
explanation is not accepted, it is very difficult to account for the fact that, 
in April, 1775, Falling Waters distinctly asks Presbytery for "a supply to 
reside among them and catechize;" — a request which was frequently made by 
these churches when requesting supplies. 

It was in the spring of 1775 that Mr. Fithian and Mr. Andrew Hunter 
visited this church. They spent the night of May 18th at Hagerstown, 
Md. The next morning, when leaving the hotel, and about to pay their 
bill, the landlord, Mr. Van Lear, surprised them by saying that " a clergy- 
man's money would not pass with him." Having crossed the Potomac, 
he writes, " May 19. We are now in Berkeley County, eighty miles above 
Alexandria and eighty-seven from Baltimore. We arrived among Mr. 
Hunter's relatives. He introduced me to his mother, sister and brothers." 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



61 



On Saturday they visited Rev. Hugh Vance, who gave them " liberty to 
visit and preach in the neighboring vacancies." Availing themselves of 
this liberty the day after, he writes in his diary as follows: 

"Sunday, May 21. Mr. Hunter and I preached at Falling Waters 
Meeting House. It stands on the Potowmack, is well situated, and I am 
told is a numerous society. The people gave good attention, sang the Scotch, 
or, as they called them, ' David's Psalms.' The congregation is chiefly 
made up of country Irish and half Scotch, most of them Presbyterians. 
We dined at one Bowland's. Two wagons fully loaded went past, going 
with families to back settlements." 

As Mr. Hunter was at home, the Presbytery the next month (June, 
1775) appointed him to preach for several Sabbaths at Falling Waters. 

At almost every meeting of Presbytery until 1788, Falling Waters is 
asking for supplies and great numbers of them are sent. In October of 
that year this-church unites with Williamsport and Hagerstown in Mary- 
land in a request for Mr. Joseph Caldwell, a licentiate of a Presbytery in 
Ireland, "as a constant supply for one year." This request was granted. 
In April, 1791, Falling Waters unites with Williamsport in a call for the 
ministerial services of Rev. David Bard, accompanied by subscription 
papers promising an annual salary of £77, 18s., 16d. This call does not 
seem to have been accepted by Mr. Bard. In April, 1793, Falling Waters 
and Tuscarora united in a call for the Rev. John Boyd. He was ordered 
to supply them for six months, and in October of that year accepted the 
call; and April 9, 1794, was installed their pastor. 

Of this minister very little is known, beyond the fact that he was 
licensed December 21, 1791, by Donegal Presbytery, and that he was pas- 
tor of Falling Waters and Tuscarora churches from April 9, 1794, to April 
17, 1801, a period of seven years. What was the character of the man, 
or of his ministry, we have not been able to learn. Of his subsequent life 
and labors we know nothing, except that he was dismissed to the Presby- 
tery of New Brunswick in April, 1803, and was without any pastoral 
charge for several years. We are ignorant of the date and place of his 
death. 



62 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



X, PATTERSON'S CREEK. 

Our knowledge of this church, prior to the organization of Winchester 
Presbytery, is rather limited. The name first appears in the Presbyterial 
Records for April, 1768, when Mr. Roan is appointed to preach on Patter- 
son's Creek, and on the South Branch of the Potomac, and at Cape Capon. 
And yet, at the very next mention of it, the people on that creek not only 
ask for supplies, but " especially for an ordained minister to assist them in 
forming themselves into a congregation, and ordaining elders." This is in 
October, 1781, which we may reasonably assume is very near the date of 
their organization as a church. Eighteen months later, viz: April, 1783, 
the Patterson' s Creek and South Branch churches unite in a call for thapas- 
toral services of Rev. John McKnight, who had recently resigned from Elk 
Branch. This call Mr. McKnight declined. 

But besides these minutes, in which this church is distinctly mentioned, 
there is a minute for October, 1768, of such a general character, that it 
may include Patterson's Creek — "a number of places in Hampshire sup- 
plicate for supplies." And there is another minute, nearly ten years later 
( April, 1777) which tells in general terms that " Mr. Waughwas appointed 
to supply in Hampshire." Each of these minutes may refer to service 
that was rendered on Patterson's Creek, as well as to other places in that 
county. 

We learn, however, from other sources, that the people of this Valley 
were sometimes in the enjoyment of Gospel ordinances, other than those 
furnished by members of Donegal Presbytery. Some of the early settlers 
were of Dutch origin; and missionaries of the Reformed Dutch Classis 
were sometimes sent to preach to them. 

But they were specially blessed for two years or more with the servi- 
ces of a preacher of their own church, who was afterwards known as one 
of the distinguished ministers of his day — Rev. Thaddeus Dod. 

Mr. Dod was born near Newark, N. J., in 1740, and belonged to a 
family that, for several generations, has been remarkable for mathemati- 
cal taste and talent. The Rev. Dr. Albert B. Dod, of Princeton, was his 
great nephew. Thaddeus Dod was gradua.ei at Princeton in 1773, studied 
theology under Dr. Alexander McWhorten, was licensed by the Presbytery 
of New York in 1775, and ordained by the same Presbytery, sine titulo, in 
October; 1777. After his licensure he undertook a journey to western 
Pennsylvania, where several families from his own neighborhood had gone. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



63 



On his way he stopped at Patterson's Creek, and preached to those people 
for a few weeks; and then continued his journey to the vicinity of what is 
now Washington, Pa., where he yielded to the importunities of his old 
friends, to become their pastor. With this end in view he returned home, 
received ordination, and about November 1, 1777, set out with his wife and 
two children for their distant home. Reaching Patterson's Creek again, he 
learned of the depredations the Indians were committing in the West. 
Leaving his family in the care of friends, he crossed the mountains alone, 
and was advised that the risk of bringing his family there at that time was 
too great; so he returned to Patterson's Creek, where, in the providence of 
God, his stay was prolonged for about two years (1777-1779), during which 
time he preached unremittingly, and with great acceptance and effect to 
the people on the creek and places adjacent. His labors here were so 
richly blessed, and his r aithfulness had so endeared him to that people, 
that when the way was open for him to leave, a vigorous effort was made 
to retain him, and a much larger salary was offered than had been prom- 
ised at Tenmile. But his word had been given, and he must abide by it. 
During his sojourn on Patterson's Creek, he buried a child. Mr. Dodwas 
the second minister who settled west of the Monongahela River, and he 
penetrated farther into the wilderness than any before him. And there he 
labored in great peril from the savages until his early death — May 20, 1793. 




XL SHEPHERDSTOWN. 

Shepherdsiown is on the south bank of the Potomac River, twelve miles 
above Harpers Ferry, and is one of the oldest towns in the Shenandoah 
Valley; and for a long time was one of the most important. It entertained 
the Synod of Virginia in 1799. It has, moreover, the remarkable distinc- 
tion of being ' ' the place where the first steamboat was constructed and 
navigated." This town has not always been called by its present name. 
There is reliable evidence that it was first called " Potomac," a name that 
it had not altogether lost at the beginning of the last century. When it 
was established by law in 1762, it was named V Mecklenburg." But this 
name seems never to have been received with much favor; and very soon 
it began to be called ' ' Shepherdstown, ' ' in honor of Capt. Thomas Shep- 



64 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



herd, who laid it off on his own land, and that name it has retained ever 
since. 

The name of Shepherdstown appears for the first time in Ecclesiasti- 
cal Records in October, 1768. As there was certainly a settlement at that 
point at least a third of a century earlier; and as among the early settlers 
are many names that were afterwards closely identified with the Presbyte- 
rian Church, it may be asked if there was no church there until the date that 
has been mentioned? This question has already been considered ( pp. 10 
et seq., and 32, 33), and the answer given, that a church had existed there for 
some time under the name of " Potomac," or, as at first written, " Poto- 
moke;" and when the town began to be called by its new name, "Shepherds- 
town," the name of the church also was changed. Such changes, we know, 
were made in several other instances, and for a like reason; e.g. , South Branch 
was changed to Moorefield; Bullskin to Charlestown; South River to Front 
Royal; Middletown to Gerrardstown; Stoverstown to Strasburg, etc. The 
location of that village; the evidence we have of the very early settlement 
of that region; the almost absolute certainty that the Potomac church was 
situated there, or in that immediate vicinity; together with the marks of 
maturity and strength which the Shepherdstown church exhibits, as soon 
as it is brought to our notice under that name; lead surely to the conclu- 
sion, that it was the successor of that church whose name disappears when 
that of Shepherdstown is introduced; or, more properly, that it is the same 
church under another and more appropriate name. 

The Shepherdstown church is first presented (October, 1768) as 
"supplicating for supplies;" and in response two men, Messrs. Slemons 
aud Balch, are ordered to supply them. The next spring, April 11, 1769, 
supplies are again asked for; and while there is no record that any particu- 
lar minister was sent, there is a general order by Presbytery that Mr. Hoge 
should " supply the vacancies in Virginia," in which order, of course, this 
church was included. From this time until April, 1783, a period of four- 
teen years, there is no mention of supplies being either asked for or sent. 
In some cases a long interval of this kind, in which the name of a church 
without a pastor does not appear at all in the Presbyterial minutes, might 
be interpreted as indicating a very feeble condition of church life, or a 
guilty indifference to church ordinances. But the cases of Mr. Jennings at 
Moorefield, and of Mr. Dod at Patterson's Creek, are proof that the work 
and worship of a church may be carried on very efficiently for a consider- 
able period, when there is nothing whatever in the minutes of the Presby- 
tery to show it. And, in this case, the silence of the Records touching 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



65 



supplies for Shepherdstown may mean that the church was supplying its 
own pulpit, either by temporary arrangement with the minister of a neigh- 
boring church, or by having obtained a " stated supply" of its own. It 
would be interesting to know the true explanation of this silence, but as 
the Sessional Records are not now extant, we must be content to remain 
in ignorance. 

The next minute we find touching this church is for April, 1783, when 
Presbytery is asked for ■ 1 supplies to be divided equally between Shep- 
herdstown and Elk Branch." As this application is made at the first meet- 
ing after Rev. John McKnight had resigned from Elk Branch, it suggests 
that during his pastorate of six or seven years, Shepherdstown, which is 
but a few miles distant, may have shared the services of this distinguished 
minister. If so, it will account very satisfactorily for about half the inter- 
val between 1769 and 1783. 

Four years later, viz: in 1787, Shepherdstown again appears asking for 
supplies, and this time from the new Presbytery of Carlisle. We are not 
told who was sent. 

This year, 1787 , is an important one in the history of the Shepherds- 
town church, as it was in the autumn of that year that Moses Hoge settled 
there, and began a ministry of twenty years as the distinguished and suc- 
cessful pastor of that church. 

Of this eminent theologian and preacher much deserves to be said, as 
he stood among the foremost in the ministry of his day; and his memory 
has been kept alive through many generations by the succession of learned 
and eloquent preachers who have descended from him, shedding additional 
luster upon his name. 

Moses Hoge was born near Middletown, in Frederick County, Va., 
February 15, 1752; and was the only one of the five ministers by whom 
this Presbytery was organized who was born within its bounds. His grand- 
parents were William and Barbara (Hume) Hoge, who migrated from 
Scotland in the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, and after residing 
first in New Jersey, then in Delaware, and afterwards in Pennsylvania, 
finally settled, in 1735, near the head of Opecquon Creek, and gave the 
land on which the Opecquon Church is built. William Hoge had several 
sons. The eldest did not come with his father to Virginia, but settled at 
what is now Hogestown, nine miles west of Harrisburg, Pa., and was the 
father of the Rev. John Hoge, for twenty years pastor of the churches of 
Opecquon and Cedar Creek. James, the fourth son of William Hoge, 
was the father of Moses. He was born in Pennsylvania, and was "a man of 



66 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



robust intellect and a self-taught theologian," the vigor of whose mind, and 
the clearness of whose views, even in old age, awakened the wonder, and 
inspired the admiration of Archibald Alexander, who visited him in 1791, 
four years before his death (see p. 50). Moses was the ninth son of James 
Hoge. His early advantages of education were limited; but he was eager 
to learn, and seized every moment that could be spared from the labors of 
the farm in the improvement of his mind. He was sent for a brief period 
to a classical school in Culpeper County, and in 1778 to Liberty Hall, 
where, under Dr. William Graham, he pursued his studies, both classical 
and theological, in preparation for the ministry. He was received as a 
candidate by Hanover Presbytery October 25, 1780; was licensed to preach 
November, 1781; and, December 13, 1782, at " Brown's Meeting House" 
in Augusta County, was ordained to the full work of the ministry. The 
ordination sermon from Acts 20:28 was preached by Rev. Archibald Scott, 
himself the ancestor of a distinguished line of Presbyterian preachers, and 
whose son, William N. Scott, was the successor of Dr. Hoge in the minis- 
try in Hardy County* 

Of the ministry of Moses Hoge in Hardy County we have already 
spoken (pp. 45-46). After a few years' service there, finding the climate 
of the South Branch injurious to his health, he listened to the overtures 
that came from Shepherdstown and, in the autumn of 1787, he reluctantly 
left the people to whom he had become devotedly attached, and established 
his home in this village on the Potomac. His distinguished ability as a 
preacher and theologian were at once recognized, and the Shepherdstown 
church grew rapidly in influence and numbers. 

It is not known whether Dr. Hoge was ever properly installed as pas- 
tor at Shepherdstown. The probability is that he was not. The fact is 
that his relations to that church for a time were somewhat anomalous. He 
was a member of Lexington Presbytery, which had been set off from 
Hanover in 1786; and his church was under the jurisdiction of Carlisle 
Presbytery, which had been erected out of Donegal the same year. This 
condition of things continued for several years, and was the occasion of 
some unpleasant complications — Mr. Hoge owing allegiance to one Presby- 
tery and the church he was serving to another. 

In October, 1789, Col. Matthew Dill, an officer of the Revolutionary 
Army, and a ruling elder, ' ' sent a letter to Carlisle Presbytery, charging 
Mr. Hoge with irregular rites in celebrating marriages; and Presbytery ap- 
pointed Dr. Davidson to write to Mr. Hoge, and caution him," etc. The 
reply of Mr. Hoge to this letter was laid before Presbytery the next April. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



67 



Of the nature of the irregularity charged, and the character of the corre- 
spondence, we are not informed; but it appears that the explanation of 
Mr, Hoge was satisfactory to Presbytery, and the matter was allowed to 
drop. At the next meeting of Carlisle Presbytery, October, 1790, Mr. 
Hoge was present, and was invited to sit as a corresponding member from 
Lexington Presbytery. His troubles, however, were not yet ended. Com- 
plaint was lodged against him before the Presbytery of Carlisle for intru- 
sion, in that he was preaching in one of the churches of that Presbytery 
without its authority. This complaint, it seems, induced him to make 
another visit to that Presbytery (April, 1791), in which he " explained his 
reasons for officiating in the congregation of Shepherdstown, and requested 
permission to continue his labors there, while retaining his membership in 
Lexington Presbytery," and his request was granted. It should be men- 
tioned here, that after Dr. Hoge had served the Shepherdstown church 
with remarkable fidelity for nearly two years, and expected to continue in 
that service, the Carlise Presbytery, in its first report to the General Assem- 
bly in 1789, ignores the presence of Mr. Hoge and reports the Shepherds- 
town church as " vacant." 

The eminent ability of Dr. Hoge as a profound, attractive, and safe 
expounder of the Word of God, came to be recognized at an early period 
in his ministry. His varied learning, mature judgment, and vigorous intel- 
lect enabled him to wield an influence in his church that proved both pow- 
erful and salutary. Of his ability as a preacher there was among his con- 
temporaries but one opinion. He ranked easily with the ablest of his 
times. And yet a volume of his sermons, published after his death, fails 
to sustain this high estimate of his pulpit power. These published sermons 
would never suggest that they had been prepared and preached by one, 
to whose discourses the profoundest thinkers of that day were accustomed 
to listen with admiration and delight. And his friends have reason to 
regret that sermons, which he had not himself prepared for publication, 
should ever have been committed to print. While sound in doctrine and 
evangelical in sentiment, they give no idea of his power as one of the really 
great preachers of his day. 

It was in the winter of 1791-2 that Archibald Alexander, after his 
licensure in Winchester, and while filling the appointments of William Hill, 
in Jefferson County, made frequent visits to Mr. Hoge at Shepherdstown. 
His conversation was found very instructive to the young licentiate, and 
his books very attractive; and he was cheerfully accorded the free enjoy- 
ment of both. Many years afterward he put on record his great indebted- 



68 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



ness to Dr. Hoge during that period for many and various acts of kindness. 

When the General Assembly was organized in 1789, Moses Hoge was 
sent by Lexington Presbytery as its first commissioner. He represented 
the same Presbytery in the Assemblies of 1791 and 1793. When the 
Presbytery of Winchester was organized, he and his elder, John Kearsley, 
were sent as its first commissioners to the Assembly of 1795. 

The Presbytery of Winchester was organized at Winchester, Va., 
December 4, 1794. By appointment of the Synod of Virginia, Mr. Hoge 
presided and preached the opening sermon. He was chosen the first 
moderator, and also the first stated clerk of the Presbytery. In 1807 he 
was elected president of Hampden-Sidney College, to succeed Dr. Archi- 
bald Alexander. In connection with this office he was made, in 1812, 
Professor of Divinity, under the appointment of the Synod. In 1810 the 
degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by the College of 
New Jersey. 

Dr. Hoge was twice married; first, on the 23d of August, 1783, to 
Miss Elizabeth Poage, of Augusta County; a woman whose rich endow- 
ments of body and mind made her eminently worthy of his love. She 
died June 18, 1802, on her way to the Sweet Springs, to which resort her 
husband was taking her, with the hope that her declining health might be 
restored. It should be mentioned as strikingly characteristic of Dr. Hoge, 
that, at her funeral,, he stood at the head of her grave, and, with wonderful 
pathos and effectiveness, preached Christ, the crucified, as the Resurrec- 
tion and the Life. She left four children, three of whom became distin- 
guished preachers. On the 25th of October, 1803, he was united in mar- 
riage to Mrs. Susannah Hunt, of Charlotte County, the widow of William 
Pitt Hunt, and mother of Rev. Thomas P. Hunt. By this marriage there 
were no children. 

The only likeness of Dr. Hoge that I have ever seen, represents him 
as spare in person, with rather sharp features, and an expression of coun- 
tenance both grave and dignified. His friend and pupil, the late Rev. Dr. 
William S. Reid, of Lynchburg, Va., describes him as "of middle size, 
somewhat tending to a forward bodily inclination. His manners, though 
without much artificial polish, were familiar and agreeable; expressing very 
strongly the kindness and benignity of his spirit Ke possessed a mind of 
uncommon vigor, capable at once of accurate discrimination and profound 
research, and withal richly stored with the treasures of scientific knowl- 
edge. As a preacher his manner was ungraceful, even uncouth; but there 
was so much depth and originality of thought, such richness and force of 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



69 



illustration, and such clear and cogent reasoning, that the awkwardness of 
his manner was very soon quite overlooked or forgotten." [Sprague's 
Annals, Vol. Ill, p. 429.] 

A fine tribute to Dr. Hoge, from the pen of his co-Presbyter, Rev. 
Joseph Glass, I must not forbear to quote. In answer to a request from 
Rev. John Blair Hoge for help in preparing a memoir of his father, Mr. 
Glass writes: 

' ' In writing his history I should not know how to begin; beginning it, 
I should not know how to end. It was not that he was unlike other men, 
but that he was always like himself; not that he was zealously engaged in 
doing good today, but that in doing good he was zealously engaged every 
day; not that he performed duty, but that he never tired in performing it; 
not that he put his hand to the plough, but that he never looked back; 
not that he knew how to do good, but that he knew not how to do harm: 
and it was on a foundation, composed of these singular materials, that he 
erected the monument of an unspotted life. It is from the top of this 
monument that his spirit looks down upon the insignificance of conquerors 
and kings, and proclaims to the world that the love of God is more durable 
than polished brass." 

Dr. Hoge died July 5, 1820, in the city of Philadelphia; having gone 
there as a commissioner to the General Assembly; and his remains are 
interred in the burying ground of the Third Presbyterian Church of that 
city, by the side of those of his intimate friend, Dr. John Blair Smith, a 
former president of Hampden-Sidney College. 




XIL ELK BRANCH* 

The present Elk Branch church is at Duffields in Jefferson County, 
W. Va., a station on the Baltimore & Ohio Railway, six miles west of 
Harpers Ferry. The house of worship is on the north side of the Elk 
Branch, a small tributary of the Potomac, and from which the church takes 
its name. But the old church, with the history of which we are here con- 
cerned, was half a mile west of the present site, and on the south side of 
the Branch, near the large spring formerly enclosed in the Block House, 
which the early settlers built for protection from the hostile Indians. 



70 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



The name of this church first comes to our notice in the Records of 
Donegal, April 11, 1769. The prominence it evidently had even then, and 
the decided importance it soon attained, suggest either a much earlier organ- 
ization than is indicated by the above date, or else the recent organization 
of a colony of considerable strength set off from an older church. The 
alternative of an earlier organization is improbable, because when first 
named in the minutes it is called " Elk Branch in Virginia;" not, as in the 
case of ' ' Tuscarora in Virginia, ■ ' to distinguish it from another church of 
the same name in Pennsylvania — for there was no other church of this 
name — but to designate its locality as a church hitherto unknown to Pres- 
bytery. The other alternative offers the more probable solution. If the 
theory we have already advanced (pp. 32, 33) is correct, that the old 
Potomack ' ' church was about this time re-organized under the new name 
of " Shepherdstown, ' ' by which name that town now began to be called, 
then the idea is very reasonable that the members of that church residing 
on Elk Branch, now quite numerous, should ask for a separate and more 
convenient organization for themselves. And if they were set off in a 
body from the parent church, it will account for the prominence with which 
this church sprang so suddenly into notice. It did not have to grow, as 
most other churches of that day did, from feeble beginnings and by slow 
accessions, but started as a fully organized church. 

This opinion is sustained by the fact that there was already a church 
building at the Link Spring. This house, built of logs, was in a state of 
decay in 1792, which is proof that it must have been erected a long time 
before 1769. And it is fair to assume that in that house the Presbyterians 
on Elk Branch were accustomed to hold occasional, if not stated, worship. 
This opinion is further sustained by the activity in church life displayed at 
once by this people in their persistent and successful efforts to obtain for 
themselves the ordinances of the Gospel, as well as by the early period at 
which they were able to settle a pastor of their own. Appearing in Pres- 
bytery for the first time in April, 1769, we find them present and asking 
for supplies at every stated meeting, and even at some adjourned meetings, 
during the next seven years. And while " supplications ' ' from other 
places, though more rarely made, were not always successful, Elk Branch 
seems always to have obtained the supplies it asked for. 

In answer to their first application the Rev. Robert Cooper was sent 
them; a few weeks later Rev. Hezekiah Balch; and after that, at each 
meeting of Presbytery, there are several appointments made for Elk Branch. 
Among the ministers sent for the next six or seven years — and some of 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 71 



them were sent very frequently — were Messrs. Cooper, Balch, Siemens, 
Vance, Craighead, Rhea, Lang, Hoge, McKnight, Thompson, Hunter, 
McConnell and others. It is interesting to mention, as showing the genu- 
ine old-fashioned Presbyterianism of these Elk Branch people, and also a 
carefully-observed custom of our church at that day; that in several instan- 
ces, when asking for supplies, they put in the special request that the min- 
ister sent should catechize the church; and in this request we have reason 
to believe that the Larger as well as the Shorter Catechism was included. 

What previous efforts, if any, were made by this church to obtain a 
pastor, we are not informed ; but at the meeting of April, 1776, a call for 
the pastoral services of Licentiate John McKnight was presented. The 
commissioners from Elk Branch, presenting this call, were John White 
(father of the distinguished Judge Robert White, of Winchester), James 
McAllister and John Wright. The salary per annum promised was £132, 
7s., subscribed, and £120, Pennsylvania currency, pledged. This young 
preacher, it would seem, was in great demand, as two other calls from 
churches in Pennsylvania were presented for him at the same meeting, and 
each of these offered a salary considerably larger than that from Elk 
Branch. The three calls were placed in his hands, and at the next meetr 
ing (June, 1776) "Mr. McKnight, being called upon by Presbytery to an- 
swer the calls in his hands, accepted that from Elk Branch." No further 
action in this matter was taken until the stated meeting in October, when 
"Presbytery agreed to meet at Elk Branch, Tuesday, December 3, 1776, 
to ordain Mr. McKnight/' Accordingly, Presbytery met, as appointed, in 
"the Elk Branch Presbyterian Church." Present— Seven ministers and 
four Ruling Elders. Absent — nine ministers. The meeting was opened 
with the trial sermon of Mr. McKnight from Heb. 6:1 — 8. All his trials 
were successfully passed, and on Thursday morning, December 5, 1776, 
he was set apart to the full work of the Gospel ministry and installed the 
first pastor of the Elk Branch church. Rev. James Lang preached the 
ordination sermon and the Rev. Mr. Balch delivered the charge. Mr. 
McKnight continued for several years the beloved and faithful pastor of 
this church, feeding his own people with "the finest of the wheat," and 
doing his part in supplying the vacancies and destitutions around him, and 
often carrying the Gospel into "the regions beyond." But in October, 
1782, he felt constrained to tender his resignation on account of serious 
arrears in salary. When we remember that during the whole of his min- 
istry here the Revolutionary War was in progress, the business of the 
country interrupted and its money almost worthless, we need not be sur- 



72 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



prised that his people were in such financial straits as to be unable to meet 
their pecuniary obligations to their pastor. But as the same conditions 
prevailed almost everywhere, and yet pastors were in some measure paid, 
it is quite possible that this particular church was not free from blame in 
allowing the salary to fall so far behind that their pastor was compelled to 
leave them. 

As proof of his popularity as a preacher, no sooner was it known that he 
was released from Elk Branch than strenuous efforts were made, in numer- 
ous vacancies, to secure his services. Calls were at once sent him from 
Bullskin, Cool Spring, South Branch and Patterson's Creek in Virginia, as 
well as from several places in Pennsylvania. He accepted the call from 
Marsh Creek (Gettysburg) Pa., and was settled there. 

During all his ministry, the Rev. Dr. McKnight was a conspicuous 
figure in the church. He was a man of distinguished ability and great in- 
fluence. He was born near Carlisle, Pa., October 1, 1754, and was grad- 
uated from Princeton College in 1773. Having decided to enter the min- 
istry, he was licensed by Donegal Presbytery, April 12, 1775, and or- 
dained by the same Presbytery December 5, 1776. After his pastorate of 
six years at Elk Branch (1776-1782) and of six years also at Marsh Creek 
(1783-1789) he accepted a call to the Collegiate churches in New York 
City as co-pastor with Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, where he continued for 
twenty years in the earnest and faithful discharge of his ministerial duties, 
and for several years preaching three times each Sabbath. On account of 
some changes in his collegiate relations, which he did not approve, and on 
account also of enfeebled health, he resigned his pastorate in 1810 and re- 
tired to his farm near Chambersburg in the Cumberland Valley. Soon 
after this the Rocky Spring church, in the neighborhood of his home, be- 
came vacant, and he served it for several years as stated supply, but with 
as much fidelity as if he had been its installed pastor. In 1815 he was 
persuaded reluctantly to accept the presidency of Dickinson College; but 
because of its serious financial embarrassments he resigned his position at 
the end of a year and returned to his farm, where the remainder of his life 
was spent, preaching as opportunity offered and his health would permit. 
He died October 21, 1823, in the seventieth year of his age, "in the full ex- 
ercise of his mental powers and in the lively assurance of a future glorious 
life." 

A few weeks before his installation at Elk Branch, Mr. McKnight was 
happily married to Miss Susan Brown, of Franklin County, Pa. Ten 
children were the fruit of this union, two of whom entered the ministry. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 73 

In 1791 he received the degree of D. D. from Yale College, and in 
1795 was chosen Moderator of the General Assembly. 

In the course of his ministry, Dr. McKnight published a number of 
"occasional sermons." Soon after his settlement in New York, at the 
urgent request of some prominent ministers, he published a volume on 
"Faith," consisting of six sermons, which he had preached in different 
places. In connection with this volume, Dr. A. Alexander relates an in- 
teresting fact ("Life," pp. 119, 120). While in the Lower Valley in 
1791-2, he writes: "I preached frequently for old Mr. Vance, of Tusca- 
rora, who then lay upon his death bed. In this congregation I met with 
one Robert Campbell, whose memory was prodigious* The Rev. Dr. Mc- 
Knight had formerly been his pastor and was held by him in great admi- 
ration. Campbell could repeat many of the Doctor's sermons verbatim. 
When Dr. McKnight resolved to publish several sermons on Faith, he had 
lost the manuscript of one among them. He had recourse to Mr. Camp- 
bell, who supplied what was missing, and, as I was informed, with great 
exactness." 

Dr. McKnight had a rich vien of humor, though he did not often in- 
dulge it. He is undoubtedly the original author of that well-known pleas- 
antry which has been ascribed to many different ministers of distinction — 
conspicuously to Dr. Plumer of Virginia — and which some others, who are 
not distinguished, have sometimes plagiarized. In one of his early charges 
he had just ordained three new elders, one of whom was appointed to go 
with him to Presbytery the next week. The evening before they were to 
set off, this elder came to his pastor, much worried in mind, to inquire 
what responsible duties should be expected of him as a delegate to Pres- 
bytery. Perceiving his embarrassment, the Doctor assumed a serious air, 
and replied : "You are to be here in time to see that my horse is properly 
fed, and groomed, and saddled, and ready for us to start ; you are to go 
along with me and be ready to open and shut all gates, to let down and 
put up all bars ; you are to go on before and order dinner ; you are to pay 
all bills ; and then to vote always as I do." This playfulness relieved the 
anxiety of the new elder, whose countenance changed from its solemn 
gravity to a smile ; and then he was informed what his real duties would be. 

Dr. McKnight has been described "As a man of slender person, 
above medium height and of a considerate and reflective countenance, in- 
dicative of deep and protracted thought. His bearing and address were 
graceful and dignified, without any manifestation of overbearing pride or 
haughtiness. He was at ease in every society and could adapt himself to 



74 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 

all cirumstances and to all classes of persons. As a preacher he was calm, 
dispassionate, with little variation of tone or gesture, yet not monotonou 
or unimpressive, but with a manner well adapted to his matter, which was 
generally a lucid and logical exposition of some important Scripture truth. 
He was a zealous expounder and defender of the Calvinistic faith, which 
he was careful always to enforce by a due citation of Scripture passages" 
(Duf field, condensed by Norcross). 

When Elk Branch became vacant by the resignation of Mr. McKnight 
it .renewed its application to Donegal Presbytery for supplies. These Rec- 
ords, however, contain but one such application, and in the Records of Car- 
lisle, after its organization in 1786,there is not one. In April, 1783, it asks for 
"supplies to be equally divided between Elk Branch and Shepherdstown." 
At the same meeting Shepherdstown made the same request. This is signifi- 
cant, as showing the influence of old associations. What answer Presbytery 
returned to this petition we are not informed, but from the silence of the Rec- 
ords for several years, it is quite probable that some arrangement was made 
for the joint supply of these two churches. It is a fact that from this time for a 
period of about forty years, Elk Branch, as a church, drops completely 
out of the Ecclesiastical Records. Neither Carlisle nor Lexington men- 
tions it in its official report to the General Assembly (Minutes of Assembly, 
1789 and 1792-3). Nor does this name appear in the list of churches 
set off by the Synod of Virginia (1794) to constitute the Presbytery of 
Winchester. The explanation of this is furnished in part by the following 
extract from the Presbyterial History of this church : "After Mr. Mc- 
Knight left, Donegal Presbytery continued to supply Elk Branch until 
1792, when, by the consent of the people, at the house of Peter Martin, Elk 
Branch was partitioned, one part, with its Elders and people, going under 
the care of Rev. Moses Hoge at Shepherdstown, and the other part going 
under the care of Rev. William Hill, of Bullskin to unite in forming the 
new church in the new town of Charlestown, the county seat of Jefferson 
County, W.Va." And so one of our oldest, and at one time, one of our most 
important churches disappears from the Records until its reorganization in 
1833. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 75 

Beginning with the year 1768, and continuing for ten years or more, 
the Presbytery displayed special activity in its evangelistic work. Not 
only was it diligent in supplying congregations already formed and asking 
its aid, but it went out into regions from which no request for supplies 
came. Some of these missionary expeditions seem to have added nothing 
to the strength or growth of the church. There were several points within 
the bounds of what was afterwards Winchester Presbytery, to which 
preachers were sent once, or more frequently ; but where no sufficient en- 
couragement was found for continuing to send them. Of some of these 
places our information is very indefinite — of some of them, indeed, their 
location is not definitely known. Some of them were west of the Blue 
Ridge, and others east of it, but in territory that, prior to 1859, belonged 
to our Presbytery. We will mention them in the order in which they are 
found in the Donegal Records. 

\. Lost River, 

This point, as we interpret the minutes, is mentioned twice in the Rec- 
ords ; first, in October, 1768, when Rev, John Hoge is directed to "supply 
at Mr. Wilson,' s, near Lost River." This Mr. Wilson, we have reason to 
believe, lived at or near what is now known as "Lost City," and where, in 
1899, a church was organized by our Presbytery. Nearly fifty years be- 
fore that organization there was occasional preaching at that point. 
When the Rev. Dr. W. V. Wilson was pastor at Moorefield he held a 
protracted meeting there every summer ; and the family that was most in- 
terested in having these services was named "Wilson." Again, in April, 
1769, a request went up to Presbytery from Lost River for supplies. We 
are not informed who was sent. Though the designation here is not in the 
same terms as before, it is reasonable to suppose that each of these min- 
utes refers to the same place. "Lost River" is not mentioned again and 
yet it is altogether probable that it was visited by the supplies that were 
afterward sent to "places adjacent to the South Branch." The Lost River 
is that remarkable stream which rises near Howard's Lick, in Hardy 
County, and after flowing in a northeasterly direction for some fifty miles, 
suddenly disappears at the base of a mountain near Wardensville, and then 
at a point about three miles distant, on the other side of the mountain, re- 
appears as the Capon River and flows on to the Potomac. While in the 
Records to which we have access, no further mention is made of this place 
after 1769 ; yet it must have received considerable attention a few years 
later from other sources — perhaps from the Presbytery of Lexington, and 



76 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



in connection with the work at Moorefield. Through the labors of parties 
unknown to us now, it had grown into a congregation of such importance 
that " Lost River" is mentioned as one of the " churches " set off by the 
Synod of Virginia to constitute the Presbytery of Winchester. 

2* North River* 

This is the next one of those places of which we are now speaking. 
In the minutes for April 11, 1769, North River is mentioned as asking for 
supplies. This River is in Hampshire County, and is the main tributary 
of the Capon. The confluence of the two rivers is called ' 'Forks of Capon, ' ' 
where a Presbyterian church was established about 1768. The point on the 
North River for which supplies are now asked is not designated, but was prob- 
ably near our present North River church, where at a very early day a con- 
siderable body of people, mostly Presbyterians, had settled. This church is 
in Hampshire County, and while North River is not again mentioned by 
name it may very well have been included in the ' 'various places in Hamp- 
shire County, Va.," to which, the minutes tell us, supplies were sometimes 
sent. We have now three organized churches along that rivej. 

# 

3. Warm Springs in Virginia* 

This is another point mentioned but once in the Records. There is noth- 
ing in that mention to indicate with certainty the locality of these Springs ; 
nor have we been able to obtain any information that would satisfactorily 
fix their location. They may be the ' 'Warm Springs' ' in Morgan County, 
though we have nothing but the name to suggest it, as we have no knowl- 
edge of any Presbyterian settlement there at that time. The only clue to 
their location, and that a very slight one, is that in the minute in which 
the name appears, June, 1772, Rev. Mr. Thorn is "ordered to supply Alex- 
andria and Warm Springs in Virginia." Ordinarily, though not always, 
such an order indicates that the places to be supplied are in the same gen- 
eral region of country. That clue would place these Springs some- 
where east of the Blue Ridge ; and the only place in our eastern territory 
known to us that would in any way answer to this name, are the Fauquier 
White Sulphur Springs, six miles southwest of Warrenton. We have no 
assurance, hovever, that these are the springs meant, and as the name oc- 
curs but this once, and no church was planted at the place, it is not a mat- 
ter of much importance that we are not able to locate it with accuracy. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



77 



4> North Branch of Rappahannock* 
Until a few years before the breaking out of the War for Independ- 
ence the evangelistic efforts of Donegal Presbytery in Virginia were ex- 
pended almost exclusively in the region west of the Blue Ridge ; but after 
that time a very active interest was taken in that part of Eastern Virginia 
lying between the Potomac River and the Rappahannock. As this section 
is a part of the original territory of Winchester Presbytery, the missionary 
work of Donegal east of the Blue Ridge claims a place in these historical 
sketches. 

The first certain mention of any place east of the Ridge is ' 'The North 
Branch of the Rappahannock, in Culpeper County, Va." This is in April, 
1772, when a request for supplies is sent from this place ; and in answer 
to this request Mr. Slemons was directed to preach there the fourth Sab- 
bath in August and Mr. Craighead the fourth Sabbath in September. The 
probable location of this place we have not been able to ascertain, nor does 
the name, in this precise form, appear again in the Records. It is possible 
that this records the beginning of Presbyterian preaching in Culpeper county, 
as soon after this date Culpeper Court-House comes prominently into 
notice. 

5* Govrdvme. 

This place is mentioned in the same minute with the last — April, 1772. 
Mr. Amos Thompson was ordered to supply one Sabbath at discretion, 
Mr. Slemons the first Sabbath in September, and Mr. Craighead the first 
Sabbath of October. At a meeting of Presbytery in June of the same 
year the Rev. Mr. Thorn is appointed an additional supply ; and after that 
the name does not appear again. Gourd vine is on the North Branch of 
the Rappahannock River, in Culpeper County, and very near the line 
which separates that county from Rappahannock. That it is a different 
place from that which is definitely called the "North Branch of the Rap- 
pahannock' ' is evident from the fact that, when Mr. Slemons was sent to 
supply these two places, he was directed to preach one Sabbath on the 
"North Branch" and the next Sabbath at "Gourdvine." 

6* Turkey Run* 

" Turkey Run, in Fauquier County," is another place several times 
mentioned as supplied by Presbytery, but at which no church seems to 
have been established. This "Run" is a few miles east of Warrenton. 
Old ' ' Parson Williamson' ' spent the most of his ministry in that region, 



78 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



and his daughter, still living there at a very advanced age, learned from 
her father that before and after A. D., 1800, Presbyterian services were 
regularly held at a certain point on that stream until they were transferred 
to the town of Warrenton. In April, 1778, ministerial supplies were first 
asked for, and Rev. Samuel Waugh, who ' ' at his own request had been 
granted leave to itinerate in Virginia ' ' during the three summer months of 
that year, ' 'was recommended especially to supply some Sabbaths at Tur- 
key Run and parts adjacent." At the same meeting " the Committee on 
Supplies ' ' was directed to arrange for preaching at various places, and 
among them Turkey Run is especially named. And from subsequent min- 
utes we find that this committee was accustomed to provide supplies year 
by year for this and other places. 

Turkey Run is not specially named again in the Records; but it no 
doubt shared in the services which itinerating ministers rendered to many 
congregations east of the Blue Ridge. Rev. Mr. Waugh, e. g., spent the 
summer of 1779 " traveling and preaching in the lower parts of Maryland 
and in Virginia." In April, 1780, Rev. David Bard, whose home was in 
Loudoun County, ' ' had leave to supply Virginia vacancies at discretion, 
both as to time and place." And in October of the same year the order 
was renewed to Messrs. Waugh and Bard to do further missionary work in 
Virginia. It is supposed that the church in Warrenton, Va., is the out- 
come of these early services at "Turkey Run in Fauquier County." 

7* The Parish of Shelburn in Virginia* 

This parish was in the southwest angle of Loudoun County, twelve 
miles southwest of Leesburg, and eight miles west of Middleburg, and is 
now known as " The Glebe." In October, 1780, requests for supplies 
were sent up to Presbytery from this parish, and ' ' from the parish of 
Cameron in Loudoun County." These names are suggestive of Episco- 
pacy; but, of course, it is not to be understood that the requests came from 
Episcopalions. They came from Presbyterians residing in those parishes. 
In answer to them the Rev. Samuel Waugh was sent to supply the parish 
of Shelburn "and parts adjacent." From this parish the application does 
not seem to have been renewed; and we have no knowledge that any 
Presbyterian organization ever existed there. 



This completes these fragmentary accounts, and we resume our Sketches 
of Churches. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



79 



XIIL ALEXANDRIA. 

This church, which has since become so important, first appears in 
the Donegal Records April, 1772. From the manner in which it is intro- 
duced, it may be inferred that an organized church may have already ex- 
isted there. There is no request for a preacher to be sent, but the Rev. 
James Hunt is ordered to supply Alexandria one Sabbath at his discretion. 
At the same meeting appointments were also made for Rev. Amos Thomp- 
son and Rev. James Lang to preach at Alexandria. At the June meeting 
the same year the Rev. William Thorn was ordered to supply the church. 
This last appointment led to a call for Mr. Thorn from the Alexandria 
church, which he accepted, and the same year became its pastor. 

Rev. William Thorn was licensed by Donegal Presbytery October 10, 
1771. The next year he received a call from the congregation in Sherman's 
Valley, Pa. But though ' ' the call was made in the most unanimous man- 
ner, without one dissenting voice," Mr. Thorn declined it, and accepted 
the call from Alexandria, where, on the third day of December of the 
same year (1772) he was ordained and installed. His ministry in this 
church was very brief, as he died before the close of the following year. 

At the meeting of Presbytery next succeeding his death ( April, 1774), 
the Alexandria church made special application for Rev. John Black, who 
had been licensed by Donegal Presbytery in October of the preceding year. 
They failed, however, to secure him as pastor, as he accepted a call from 
Gettysburg, Pa., where he was ordained and installed August, 1775. 

This church remained vacant, though not unsupplied, for more than 
six years after the death of Mr. Thorn. Its supplies during this period were 
obtained mainly from other sources than the Presbytery of Donegal, though 
Donegal was not neglectful of this vacancy. In October, 1774, Rev. Amos 
Thompson was commissioned to supply the Virginia vacancies and his 
labors were given chiefly to eastern Virginia. In June, 1775, the Rev. 
Messrs. Lang and Rhea were directed to spend some time in similar work 
in the same field. In October, 1776, Rev. James Hunt was sent as a 
special supply to Alexandria, and in April, 1777, Rev. John McKnight was 
sent; but no pastor was obtained until 1780, when the Rev. Isaac S. Keith, 
of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, was called. 

Of Mr. Keith very little is known, aside from his pastorate in this 
church. He was licensed by the first Presbytery of Philadelphia some 
time between May, 1777, and May, 1779. In 1780 he was ordained by 



80 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



the same Presbytery, and dismissed to the Presbytery of Donegal that he 
might accept the call to the church in Alexandria. He was received by 
that Presbytery October 18, 1780, and soon after was installed pastor of 
this church. In May, 1786, the Presbytery of Donegal was dissolved, and 
Mr. Keith and his church were assigned to the new Presbytery of Balti- 
more. In the report of that Presbytery to the General Assembly at its 
organization in 1789, Mr. Keith is reported as a member, and as pastor of 
the Alexandria church. After this his name disappears, but whether by 
death or otherwise we are not told. 

In the spring of 1789 Rev. James Muir was called to this church, and 
continued its pastor until his death in 1820. 

Dr. Muir was one of the most distinguished of the Presbyterian minis- 
ters of that period. He was born in Scotland April 12, 1757. Both his 
father and grandfather were ministers. He was graduated at the Univer- 
sity of Glasgow March, 1776, and prosecuted his theological studies at 
Edinburg. He was licensed in London May, 1779, by six clergymen, who 
styled themselves ' ' dissenting ministers x x conforming to the doc- 
trines and practice of the Church of Scotland." On the tenth of August, 
1781, the same body of ministers ordained him to go as an evangelist to 
the Island of Bermuda. He resided in Bermuda, teaching and preaching 
until 1788, when he embarked for Scotland; but the vessel was driven back 
in distress, and finally landed him in New York. After preaching for sev- 
eral months in that city, he, in the spring of 1789, accepted a call to the 
Alexandria church, where the remainder of his ministry and of his life was 
spent. Dr. Muir was a man of unusual ability and learning; but, "owing 
to a strong Scotch accent, and a slight defect in utterance, he could not be 
called a popular preacher, yet his sermons were rich in Divine truth, and 
were characterized by condensed thought, logical arrangement, and great 
simplicity and perspicuity of style. " He is described as ' ' a short, thick- 
set man, rather heavy in his movements, of a grave, but most attractive 
expression of countenance, and as gentle and guileless as any human being" 
could be. And yet in the closing years of his ministry his church " was 
rent with factions and divided. Nearly half his congregation, inflamed 
with bitterness and wrath, separated, and constituted a new church." 

He died in perfect peace, August 8, 1820, and was buried in the 
church, just beneath the pulpit from which he had so faithfully preached 
for more than thirty-one years. By his own request, he was buried dressed 
in his gown and bands, and in a grave thirteen feet deep. 

When the General Assembly, in 1792, made the Potomac River the 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



81 



dividing line between the Synods of Philadelphia and Virginia, they made 
an exception in the case of the Alexandria church, leaving it where it had 
been for the last six years — in the Presbytery of Baltimore and Synod of 
Philadelphia; and in that connection it remained until 1853, when, at its 
own request, it was transferred to the Presbytery of Winchester and the 
Synod of Virginia. 




XIV. HOPEWELL. 

This is the original name of our church in Smithfield, Jefferson County, 
W. Va. As there was another, and much older, church of this name in 
Donegal, it is sometimes difficult to determine from the minutes, whether 
the reference is to the church in Pennsylvania, or to the one in Virginia. 
Yet, ordinarily, we are able to distinguish them. " Hopewell" has by 
some been confounded with " The Head of Bullskin." But the two names 
refer to different organizations. A careful examination makes it clear that 
the phrase " Head of Bullskin," which is used in the later minutes, was 
intended to designate more definitely the location of what had long been 
known as the Old Bullskin Church. When Archibald Alexander preached 
there after his licensure in 1791, the church building stood very near the 
head spring of the stream, and the ruins of that old building were there 
within the memory of persons still living. In the organization of the 
Hopewell church some families from Bullskin may have been included; 
but it is beyond doubt, that when Bullskin ceased to exist as a church, it 
was Charlestown and not Smithfield that was its true successor. 

The date of the organization of Hopewell church cannot be deter- 
mined. The name first appears in the Records of Donegal in October, 
1773, when, with other places in this Valley, it sent up its supplication for 
ministerial supplies. We are not told who was sent; yet that some rather 
permanent arrangement was made to provide them with Gospel ordinances 
seems probable, from the fact that their application was not renewed for 
the next six years. In April, 1780, Rev. James Martin was ordered to 
supply Hopewell in May, and Rev. John Hoge in August. The next year, 
April, 1781, it again asks for supplies; and then for the next seven or eight 
years very little is known of its history. But during that time it must have 
been growing in strength and importance as in 1791, it was able, in con- 



82 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



nection with Bullskin and Charlestown, to secure the services of Licentiate 
William Hill, who was in great demand in many parts of the Church be- 
cause of his reputation as a preacher of unusual ability and eloquence. In 
this interesting field, composed of Hopewell, Charlestown and Bullskin, 
Mr. Hill spent the first eight years of his ministry. When the Presbytery 
of Winchester was organized in 1794, Hopewell was one of the eleven 
churches composing it, which were reported as supplied with pastors. 




XV. CULPEPER COURT HOUSE. 

The name ' ' Culpeper ' ' appears in the Donegal Records as early as 
April, 1771, when the Rev. Hugh Vance was appointed a supply for the 
third and fourth Sabbaths in November; but this appointment is to the 
County, without the designation of any particular place. The next spring 
(1792) Rev. Messrs. Thompson, Slemons, and Craighead were sent to 
supply several places in the county specially named, as " Gourdvine," 
"Rappahannock," and "The North Branch of the Rappahannock/' 
Two months later Mr. Thorn was directed to visit " Gourdvine." These 
were all different places, but all of them in Culpeper County. 

In October, 1775, Rev. Hugh Vance is directed to " supply Capt. 
Conn's at Culpeper C. H." This is the first distinct reference to the place 
where a Presbyterian church was afterward established. The other points 
in the county, which seem to have been supplied only tentatively, are now 
dropped from the Records; and Culpeper C. H. is the place henceforth 
named. In October, 1776, Mr. Vance is again sent to "Conn's at Cul- 
peper C. H.," and again to " Culpeper C. H." in April, 1777. One year 
later (April, 1778) Culpeper C. H. makes supplication for supplies; and 
in answer, different ministers are sent into Virginia to spend several months 
in evengelistic work, and presumably to supply specially at this point. 
Under this appointment Rev. James McConnell and Samuel Waugh ren- 
dered efficient service. In the fall of 1779 Rev. Joseph Henderson was 
appointed to supply Culpeper, with permission to extend his labors into 
Hanover Presbytery. In October, 1780, Rev. Hezekiah Balch was directed 
to give a month's service to this congregation. 

The name of this minister occurs so often in connection with the evan- 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



83 



gelistic work in this region, that a more extended account of him may 
properly be given; and the more properly because of the distinction he 
afterward attained. 

Rev. Hezekiah James Balch, D.D., was born in Harford County, Md., 
in 1741, but most of his early years were spent in Mecklenburg County, 
N. C, to which place his parents removed when he was a child. He was 
graduated at Princeton College in 1762, and then taught for several years 
in Fauquier County, Va. He was licensed by Donegal Presbytery April 
20, 1768, and in the fall of that year was granted permission to preach in 
the vacancies of Virginia and North Carolina. In August, 1769, he ac- 
cepted calls from Rocky River and Poplar Tent, N. C. He was ordained 
by Donegal Presbytery November 16, 1769, and furnished by the modera- 
tor with credentials to Hanover Presbytery, and to the churches in North 
Carolina, he returned South. While on his first visit to North Carolina he 
was married to Miss Hannah Lewis, a young lady of fine intellect and 
great personal attractions. But, as already related, when he met his Pres- 
bytery soon after, he had to face the serious charge that was tabled against 
him, of having been ' ' married by a clergymen of the English Established 
Church." When summoned to answer, he owned his fault before Presby- 
tery, and received the solemn censure of the court, through its moderator, 
Rev. Mr. Roan. 

Mr. Balch was dismissed to the Presbytery of Orange, May 24, 1770; 
but in less than five years he returned again to Donegal, and, October 17, 
1775, was settled as pastor of Thorn's Creek (Emmitsburg), Md. Dur- 
ing his pastorate there of seven or eight years, he did a great deal of mis- 
sionary work south of the Potomac, and principally east of the Blue Ridge. 
While serving this church he became involved in a rather characteristic 
altercation with his Presbytery. At the April meeting of 1778, when called 
upon to give his reasons for absence from the last stated meeting, he re- 
fused to give any, save that he "was at camp." Finding that he had set 
out for the camp the very week of the meeting, he was ordered to lay be- 
fore Presbytery his reasons for going to camp at that time. This he abso- 
lutely refused to do. For his contumacy Presbytery judged it proper that 
he should be admonished from the chair, and that he instantly comply. 
But Mr. Balch appealed to the Synod. Some years afterward (1782) he 
withdrew the appeal, and submitted to the admonition. 

In June, 1782, he was dismissed to the Presbytery of Hanover; but 
after laboring within its bounds for two years, he crossed the Alleghanies 
and settled in eastern Tennessee, in the Valley of the Holston. Herein 



84 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



1785, he, with Rev. Samuel Doak and Rev. Charles Cummings, assisted 
in organizing the Presbytery of Abingdon — the first on our western waters. 
In that vast wilderness the remainder, and by far the most important and 
useful and yet turburlent period, of his singularly active and eventful life 
was passed. But of the incidents of that life — of his political troubles in 
connection with the formation of the State of " Franklin " — of his labors 
and sacrifices in the interests of education and religion — of his many theo- 
logical and ecclesiastical controversies, we have not room here to speak. 
Dr. Balch died after a brief, but most distressing illness, in April, 1810. 

Returning now to the history of the church at Culpeper C. H. After 
the labors there of Mr. Balch in 1780, the name of Culpeper silently drops 
out of the Donegal Records. As the church was on the border of Hanover 
Presbytery, it is possible that, with a view to more frequent service than it 
was able to get from Donegal, its Presbyterial relations may have been 
transferred for the time to the south side of the Rappahannock; or that, 
without a transfer, the church was supplied by association with some 
church on the northern border of Hanover. In any case, the fact is pretty 
well settled, that from about the period when this name disappears, until 
now, there has been a living and active Presbyterian church at Culpeper 
C. H. 




XVL KITTOCKTIN. 

There are two very interesting facts in the history of this church. The 
first is, that while we are not able to determine the date of its organization, 
it is certainly one of the oldest, and with the possible exception of Alex- 
andria, and the certain exception of Lancaster and Northumberland, abso- 
lutely the oldest church in our former territory east of the Blue Ridge. 
When we first meet with the name, in 1776, it is that of, apparently, a 
fully equipped church, not only organized for worship, but with a settled 
minister already in charge. The other interesting fact is that the earliest 
missionary work in that eastern territory was not undertaken by the Pres- 
bytery of Donegal. Important and successful work had been done there 
before this Presbytery, which had done so much for the evangelizing of 
the region west of the Ridge, had begun to send its missionaries into East- 
ern Virginia. What Presbytery it was that first entered this field — whether 



i 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 85 

New Castle from north of the Potomac, or Hanover from south of the 
Rappahannock — we do not know, though the probabilities are that the 
field was at first worked by both Presbyteries. 

Kittocktin, or as it is now written, " Catoctin," is the present Presby- 
terian church in Waterford, Loudoun County. The original house of wor- 
ship stood on the road between Leesburg and Waterford, one mile and a 
half south of its present site, and five miles north of Leesburg. It is claim- 
ed that this was the first church building erected in Loudoun County. No 
vestige of it remains now. It has not been used as a place of worship 
since about 1825. The old graveyard, in which the remains of so many 
of the early settlers were buried, is enclosed by a solid stone wall ; and it 
has received but few interments for many years. 

The name of this church first appears in the Donegal Records, Octo- 
ber, 1776. When "supplications (for ministerial service) were received 
from Kittocktin and Gum Spring, in Loudoun County, Va.," and, as en- 
forcing the supplication, the fact is stated that "Rev. Amos Thompson, 
the pastor of these churches, was absent as chaplain in the Continental 
Army." When Mr. Thompson was settled over these churches we are 
not informed, but that his relation was regarded as a permanent one is evi- 
dent from the fact that his absence in the army had not dissolved it. How 
long he continued in his post as chaplain does not appear, but as he was 
fond of adventure, and life in the army was not uncongenial, and as these 
churches were vacant for several years, it is not improbable that his chap- 
laincy continued until the close of the war. 

This Rev. Amos Thompson was a man of considerable note, though 
the church historians have written almost nothing about him. It is 
believed he was a native of Connecticut, born about 1735. He was a 
graduate of Princeton College in 1760 while Samuel Davies was president. 
He was licensed by the Presbytery of New Brunswick in 1761, and or- 
dained by the same Presbytery in 1763 or '64. Of his work between licen- 
sure and ordination we have no account. After his ordination his Presby- 
tery sent him to labor for some time in Loudoun County, Va. This ap- 
pointment seems to fix the time when his work in that county began. The 
Synod at its meeting in 1764 directed that, after his Presbyterial appoint- 
ment was fulfilled, he be recommended to supply under direction of Han- 
over Presbytery until the next meeting of Synod. Of his labors for the next 
six years we find no record. But in its report to Synod, May, 1770, his 
name appears as a member of Donegal Presbytery. The suggestion is a 
plausible one, that as the result of his labors in Loudoun County, which 



86 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



were undertaken by direction of New Brunswick Presbytery, he had ef- 
fected an organization of the churches of Kittocktin and Gum Spring and 
had become their settled minister ; but as Donegal had now assumed the 
supervision of the missionary work in Northern Virginia, it became proper 
that Mr. Thompson, laboring in that region, should have his Presbyterial 
relations transferred to the controlling Presbytery. And from that time 
until 1786 his membership continued in that Presbytery. In 1786 the Pres- 
bytery of Donegal was divided, and its name dropped. In the distribution 
of the members composing the two new Presbyteries, his name does not 
appear in connection with either. Nor is he mentioned at all when the 
several Presbyteries report their membership to the first General Assembly 
in 1789. His name is not found after 1786 in any Presbyterial Record until 
September 25, 1799, when he is received into the Presbytery of Winches- 
ter—the first member added to that Presbytery after its organization in 
1794. The record of his reception throws light upon this period of his 
history. It reads: " The Rev. Amos Thompson, formerly a member of 
Donegal Presbytery, and afterwards of Litchfield Association, having be- 
come a resident within the bounds of our Presbytery, was, upon applica- 
tion, admitted as a member." From this it seems probable that soon after 
the war closed he went back to his native State and joined the Congrega- 
tional Body, and then, after twelve or fifteen years, he returned to his old 
home in Loudoun County and spent his last years among the people to 
whom he formerly ministered. His death occurred very suddenly and 
unexpectedly in October, 1804, and on the 27th day of that month his fune- 
ral sermon was preached by Dr. Moses Hoge from John 11:26. These 
funeral services were held in Leesburg, the county seat of Loudoun. 

Dr. A. Alexander, on his journey from Hampden-Sidney to the Gen- 
eral Assembly in Philadelphia in 1801, met Mr. Thompson and traveled 
with him several days, and relates some interesting facts concerning him. 
Hearing of the new theological views which Dr. Samuel Hopkins had es- 
poused, Mr. Thompson made him a visit, after his own licensure, to con- 
vince the Doctor of his errors, and pursuade him to abandon them ; but 
returned from his visit a thorough convert to the Hopkinsian system, to 
which he adhered tenaciously to his dying day, preaching it to the aston- 
ishment, and, often to the displeasure, of his Virginia audiences. 

Mr. Thompson was a man of gigantic frame and prodigious strength, 
and utterly fearless, as the following incident will show : When he came 
to Northern Virginia, about 1765, the Baptists were the only dissenters 
there. Soon after his coming one of their leading preachers, an old man, 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



87 



had been threatened with personal violence by a set of profane and law- 
less men if he should ever appear again in a certain pulpit. Hearing of 
the prowess of Mr. Thompson, the old preacher made a long journey to 
obtain his presence at his next appointment. He at once agreed to go. 
When they arrived at the place a great multitude had assembled, for the 
threat was widely known and an exciting scene was expected. While Mr. 
Thompson was at prayer the hostile party entered and took their seats near 
the pulpit. The stalwart appearance of the preacher so intimidated the 
ruffians that they were afraid to carry out their purpose and left the house 
quietly at the close of the service. Before dismissing them, however, Mr. 
Thompson addressed himself directly to these men, told them that he was 
accquainted with their threats, warned them of the consequences of their 
lawlessness, and assured them that he would himself prosecute them in the 
civil courts if a finger was raised against the preacher. As for himself, 
though a man of peace, he was fully able to protect himself if attacked, 
and would certainly do so. When the meeting closed he inquired for the 
captain of this band, and asked him to go aside with him, and walked off 
with him toward the woods, but on reaching it this leader, a stout, bold- 
looking man, showed alarm, stopped and raised his club as if to strike. 
Thompson said quietly, "Fie, man, what can you do with that?" and in 
an instant wrested the club from his hand, adding that he intended no vio- 
lence, but that if so disposed he could hurl him to the earth in a moment. 
The ruffian was completely cowed and was glad to escape from one whose 
mastery he was compelled to acknowledge. The old preacher received 
no further molestation. 

But to return to the Kittocktin church; when in the absence of Mr. 
Thompson it first asked for supplies, the Presbytery sent them Rev. James 
Lang and Licentiate John McKnight. In December, 1776, Rev. Samuel 
Waugh, and in April, 1777, Rev. Hugh Vance, were ordered to supply 
them. The next year, 1778, Mr. Waugh was allowed to spend the entire 
summer in evangelistic labor in Eastern Virginia ; and again in the sum- 
mer of 1779 he itinerated for three months, chiefly in that region, and 
there is little doubt that this church enjoyed a full share of his labors. 

After four years of dependence upon supplies, the churches of Kit- 
tocktin and Gum Spring, despairing of the return of their pastor, in April, 
1780, laid before Presbytery a joint call for the services of Rev. David 
Bard, which he accepted, and was settled in that field. In June, 1782, he 
tendered his resignation and was dismissed. 

Of the further history of this church until after the organization of 



88 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



Winchester Presbytery we have no detailed information. But the strength 
it had attained and the commendable zeal for church privileges which it 
had always displayed, warrant the conclusion that it would not be long 
without a minister. The return of Mr. Thompson to his old home may 
mean that he served them again. This is a church that has maintained 
an uninterrupted existence for about 140 years. Its present condition is 
very flourishing under the faithful ministry of Rev. E. L. Wilson, himself 
a son of Winchester Presbytery. 

XVIL GUM SPRING* 

Gum Spring is in Loudoun County, about twelve miles south of Lees- 
burg, and seven miles east of Middleburg, on the great turnpike road from 
Winchester to Alexandria. The church organization at that point was so 
closely associated with that at Kittocktin that during the period under con- 
sideration the history of the one is substantially that of the other. The 
two come to our notice in the same Presbyterial minute as one ministerial 
charge, and when the pastor who has been serving them leaves they come 
before Presbytery with a joint request for ministerial supplies. When an- 
other minister is called the two churches unite in the call ; and this relation 
continues down to the time when Winchester Presbytery is organized and, 
probably, to the time when this church became extinct, or was removed 
to some other point and assumed a different name. 

The first mention of Gum Spring in any Record known to us is in 
October, 1776. It then appears as an organized church which had for 
some time enjoyed the services of a settled minister. This minister, - the 
Rev. Amos Thompson, was then temporarily absent from his church, act- 
ing as chaplain in the Continental Army, and his two churches, Gum Spring 
and Kittocktin, ask Donegal Presbytery for supplies during his absence. 

Of the origin and early history of this church we have no certain in- 
formation. But it seems quite probable that it was one of the fruits of Mr. 
Thompson's missionary labors when he was sent to Loudoun County by 
New Brunswick Presbytery in 1764. 

In answer to its request for supplies in 1776, Rev. Hugh Vance was 
sent. The next year Mr. McKnight supplied them for a time. Then in 
the two following years they doubtless shared in the evangelistic labors in 
that region of Rev. Samuel Waugh, as well as in the appointments, which 
at that particular time were regularly made by the Presbyterial Committee 
of Supplies. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



89 



In April, 1780, this church united with Kittocktin in a call for the 
pastoral services of the Rev. David Bard, which was accepted, and Mr. 
Bard was settled as their pastor and remained with them for two years. 
As the war was still in progress, and the money then in circulation of little 
value, it is interesting to learn what provision was made by the churches 
for the support of the preachers whom they called. In this particular case, 
we find that these churches ' 'obligated themselves to pay Mr. Bard 500 
bushels of grain, viz : 200 bushels of wheat, 50 bushels of Rie, and 250 
bushels of Indian corn." 

This minister, David Bard, had a somewhat extraordinary history. 
Like Moses Hoge, he was a native of Virginia. He was born in Leesburg, 
Loudoun County, about the year 1750 ; was graduated at Princeton in the 
class of 1773 ; was licensed by the Presbytery of Donegal, October 11, 
1776, and ordained by the same Presbytery, August 16, 1779. In the 
preceding year he had been called to the Great Cove church in Pennsyl- 
vania and served it until called to this charge in Loudoun County. During 
his short pastorate in Virginia he devoted a great deal of time in looking 
after the vacancies and destitutions of that region. When dismissed from 
this charge he was directed to preach in Leesburg, but does not seem to 
have remained there very long. In 1786 he received and accepted a call 
to Bedford, Pa., where he remained until 1789. In 1794, by act of the 
General Assembly, he was transferred from Carlisle Presbytery to Hunt- 
ingdon, having accepted, in 1790, a call to Frankstown (near Hollidays- 
burg), Pa., within the bounds of the new Presbytery. In April, 1791, he 
was called to the churches of Falling Waters and Williamsport, Md., on a 
salary of £77, 18s., 10d., but did not accept. While in charge at Franks- 
town, he, for some reason that has not been explained, became mixed up 
with the politics of the day, and in the fall of 1795 was elected to Con- 
gress from that district, and was re-elected two years later. That he look- 
ed upon this diversion from the ministry as only temporary and for the ac- 
complishment of some definite purpose, is evident from the fact that dur- 
ing these two terms in Congress he retained his pastoral relation to his 
church, from which he was not released until 1799. It was then done at 
his own request. The people of his district, however, were so well satis- 
fied with the ability and faithfulness with which he had served them as 
their representative that, after four years' retirement, they elected him 
again to Congress, and continued to re-elect him until his death, which oc- 
curred March 12, 1815, on his way home from Washington. 

His biographer is careful to say that Mr. Bard did not forsake the 



90 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



pulpit because he was unacceptable as a preacher, for he was possessed of 
popular talents, both as a preacher and politician. Nor will he allow the 
intimation that he had no heart for the ministry, for during the recesses of 
Congress he was constantly engaged in the work of the ministry, and at 
the time of his death he was stated supply of the Sinking Valley church. 

Of the history of the Gum Spring church, subsequent to the resigna- 
tion of Mr. Bard, we have no definite knowledge. It is probable, as in so 
many other instances, that it was reduced in numbers by removal, until it 
became expedient to change its location to some more eligible point — per- 
haps to Middleburg. All that we really know is that Gum Spring is now 
extinct. 

XVIIL HAMPSHIRE COUNTY* 
i Springfield* 2. Romney* 

The attempt to trace the early history of Presbyterianism in Hamp- 
shire County is attended with more difficulty than one would suppose. 
The difficulty arises mainly from the indefinite character of the statements 
found in the Presbyterial Records. Some places, as "Forks of Capon," 
"Patterson's Creek," and "North River" are distinctly designated. But in 
most instances the reference to the missionary work done in this county is 
made in such general terms that we are quite at a loss to fix upon the par- 
ticular localities intended. For example, the statement in the minutes is 
that supplies are asked for— or sent to — "Hampshire" simply. Some- 
times it is to ' 'various places on the South Branch of the Potomac, ' ' neither 
of which expressions gives any definite idea of the special place in which 
missionary work was done. But the indefinite statements of the minutes 
do not stop with these expressions. We are often embarrassed by the 
vague manner in which they speak of "the South Branch of the Potomac." 
This South Branch is the main waterway of both Hampshire and Hardy 
counties. In the early use of the expression it unquestionably refers to 
the Moorefield Valley in Hardy ; and later in the minutes there is just as 
little doubt that it refers most frequently to the lower part of the stream in 
Hampshire. But between these periods there are several instances in 
which it is very difficult to tell whether it is Hardy or Hampshire that is 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



91 



meant. In our treatment of the planting of our church in Hardy, we as- 
sumed that the reference to the "South Branch" down to about 1765, and 
some references that were later, were meant for that part of the river that 
is above "The Trough." We are aware that the correctness of this as- 
sumption may, in some cases, be questioned. But in the main we believe 
it to be justified. After that time, it seems for the most part, to be the 
Lower Valley in Hampshire that is referred to when the "South Branch" 
is named. 

And yet there are some references after that date that leave us in 
doubt as to what places are meant, e. g. At the meeting of the Synod of 
New York and Philadelphia in May, 1767, petitions for supplies were 
brought in from several points, and among them "from the South Branch 
of Potomac in Virginia." In view of these petitions, Rev. Joseph Bay, 
who had been appointed to make an evangelistic tour through Virginia, the 
Carolinas and Georgia, was "recommended to visit the South Branch of 
Potomac in going out. ' ' Here is nothing definite as to the place or places 
to be visited. It is, however, a reasonable surmise, and certainly accords 
with the spirit of his instructions, that Mr. Bay entered the Valley of the 
South Branch at its mouth, and as he proceeded up the stream on his way 
south that he visited all the settlements in the Valley where Presbyterians 
were to be found. 

Again, when in April, 1768, the South Branch supplicated Presbytery 
for supplies, and "for an ordained minister to assist in forming them into 
a regular congregation," there is no certain clue as to the part of the South 
Branch from which this request came. In our sketch of the church at 
Moorefield we interpreted the minute as referring to that part of the Branch. 
This interpretation may be correct, though subsequent minutes throw a 
shade of doubt upon its accuracy. 

There are other minutes, both of Presbytery and Synod, lacking in 
explicitness, but which seem to refer to Hampshire County, e. g. 

At the meeting of Synod, May, 1768, "an application on the behalf 
of several distressed societies on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and the 
South Branch of the Potomac, was made for missionaries to be sent among 
them," and Rev. John Roan was sent to supply them several Sabbaths at 
discretion, the sum of £4 and 10s. being allowed for his expenses. In 
October of the same year " a number of places in Hampshire" ask for 
supplies. April, 1769, "various places on the South Branch of Potomac" 
call on Presbytery for supplies. At the meeting of Synod, May, 1771, 
"application was made on behalf of vacancies beyond the Alleghanies, 



92 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



and on behalf of the settlements on the South Branch of Potomac," and 
Rev. Sampson Smith was sent "to spend six months in the settlements of 
the South Branch." And the next year, May, 1772, the Synod again ap- 
pointed Mr. Sampson Smith to "supply two months on the South Branch 
of Potomac." 

That all these minutes, both of Presbytery and Synod, refer only to 
places in the Valley of the South Branch, below "The Trough," is more, 
probably, than we are at liberty to affirm ; but that most of them do, we 
are fully persuaded. It can hardly be supposed that that Lower Valley, 
with its broad, rich bottoms and many other attractions, had been over- 
looked by Presbyterian immigrants when other places in Hampshire, less 
inviting and no more accessible, had been long occupied by them. If the 
minutes we have quoted were more explicit it would no doubt be seen that 
there were places on the South Branch in Hampshire, as well as on Patter- 
son's Creek and Capon, that at an early date were fully equipped for wor- 
ship, and were enjoying, if not the stated, yet the occasional ministry of 
the Word. One of these places was 

J st. Springfield. 

It is a singular fact that we do not meet with the name "Springfield" 
in any Record, Presbyterial or Synodical, until in the minutes of the Synod 
of Virginia in 1794 it is mentioned as one of the churches set off to con- 
stitute the Presbytery of Winchester. It is referred to, however, though 
under a different name, as early at least as October, 1776. At that date, 
Licentiate John McKnight was ordered by Donegal Presbytery to "supply 
at Mr.Abernathy's." A later minute (April, 1778) locates "Abernathy's" 
in Hampshire County, and personal inquiry establishes the fact that, at 
the time designated, a family of the name of Abernathy resided on the 
South Branch at or near where Springfield now is, and ran a flour mill 
that was extensively patronized throughout that region. Mr. Abernathy 
was a Presbyterian, and public worship was conducted at his home -by 
Presbyterian preachers for a number of years. Mr. McKnight, while pas- 
tor at Elk Branch, made several visits there, where his services were highly 
appreciated. When, however, the congregation became so large that a 
more commodious building in which to assemble became necessary, a con- 
troversy arose as to the site on which the house of worship should be erect- 
ed. Some favored placing it near Mr. Abernathy's, while others insisted 
that a more eligible site was offered by "Major Scott, of Virginia." The 
contention waxed so warm that the matter was at length, in April, 1780, 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



93 



submitted to the Presbytery for settlement. A settlement seems to have 
been reached, but just how the question was decided we do not now know. 
The next October (1780) Mr. McKnight was directed to spend two weeks 
in preaching to this people, and after that the name does not again occur 
in the Records of either Donegal or Carlisle Presbyteries ; nor do we find 
any other name that can be identified with it. This may possibly be ac- 
counted for by the fact that the Presbyterial "Committee" sent supplies 
regularly to them as well as to several other churches, of which no minute 
was made. 

Dr. Foote, in his manuscript preface to the Records of Mt. Bethel 
Church, written in 1833, says that the first Presbyterian preacher in Hamp- 
shire County was a Rev. Mr. Finley, but he gives no clue as to the time 
when, or the places where he preached. We have not been able to dis- 
cover any other reference to this minister. His name is not found on the 
roll of any Presbytery that sent preachers to this region. If he was the 
first Presbytertan preacher in the county he must have been there prior to 
1761, when the Presbytery of Donegal began to send missionaries here. 
It may be that Dr. Foote meant that Mr. Finley was the first resident min- 
ister in Hampshire. In that case he must have lived there before 1777, 
when the Rev. Thaddeus Dodd came to Patterson's Creek and labored 
there for about two years. Mr. Finley may possibly have lived at Spring- 
field, and carried on his work there and elsewhere during the period be- 
tween 1780 and 1792 — a period of which we have no definite information 
touching the history of the church in that part of the South Branch Valley. 

After 1792 we come again into the light of documentary history. The 
Commission of the Synod of Virginia began to send its missionaries into 
these back counties, and one of them, John Lyle, after laboring for a time 
along the South Branch Valley, was finally induced to settle at Springfield, 
and the remainder of his life, about fifteen years, was spent in active evan- 
gelistic work in the county of Hampshire. 

The Rev. John Lyle was the son of Daniel Lyle, an emigrant from 
the north of Ireland, and was born in Rockbridge County, though the date 
of his birth is not known. As a young man he accompanied the expedi- 
tion to Point Pleasant against the Indians and took part in that famous bat- 
tle October 10, 1774. It is probable that he was a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary War also. It was rather late in life that he began his preparations 
for the ministry, which were made under the direction of Rev. William 
Graham, and with Archibald Alexander as a fellow student. During their 
theological training an incident occurred which Dr. Alexander thought of 



94 



THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



sufficient interest to refate in his autobiography. The Presbytery had au- 
thorized Dr. Graham to exercise his divinity students in public exhorta- 
tions, and this is the story of the first experiment: "The thing was new 
(the doctor writes) in that part of the country, and many came together. 
I was exceedingly apprehensive that I should utterly fail and not be able to 
say anything, for I had never spoken in public, except when I had com- 
mitted my speech to memory. I had once attempted to speak in a juve- 
nile debate without the least success, x x x Mr. Lyle appeared to be 
much animated and elevated. He told me he had a remarkable flow of 
thought and seemed confident of a prosperous issue, which only discour- 
aged me the more, as I was weighed down with a heavy burden. After 
singing and prayer, Mr. Graham called first upon Mr. Lyle, who arose 
with an awful cloud upon his brow, seized fast hold of the chair upon 
which he had been sitting, and with many contortions of countenance, 
forced out a few words, but his flow of thought had deserted him. 
He hemmed and groaned, rolled up his pocket handkerchief into a 
ball, made a few convulsive gestures and sat down." After another prayer 
and hymn, Alexander was called upon and went through his address with 
a fluency that astonished himself, and as he was young and small the old 
people were not less astonished. 

Mr. Lyle was taken under the care of Lexington Presbytery, July 30, 
1790. A part of his trials for licensure were passed at the same time with 
Mr. Alexander's, and he was licensed at New Monmouth church, April 
29, 1791. After itinerating for about two years under direction of the 
Commission of the Virginia Synod, along the waters of the Potomac, Jack- 
son's River, Greenbrier and Roanoke, he accepted an invitation to settle 
in Hampshire County. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Lexington 
at Springfield, Saturday, November 30, 1793. His permanent residence 
until his death was at Springfield, which was one of his most important 
preaching places; the remainder of his time being given to Romney and Pat- 
terson's Creek, though the whole county shared more or less in his 
services. Soon after his settlement at Springfield he established a classical 
school there, which Dr. Foote speaks of as having attained "great celeb- 
rity." He married a sister of Rev. Joseph Glass and a granddaughter of 
Samuel Glass, the emigrant from Ireland, whose remains are buried at 
the Opecquon church. 

Mr. Lyle died in 1807, and was buried in Springfield. His grave can- 
not now be identified. He left a widow and a large family of young chil- 
dren. Some of his descendents have been distinguished in the church. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



95 



Though he was not a great preacher, Mr. Lyle was a very useful min- 
ister. He was diligent, laborious and self-sacrificing in carrying the Gos- 
pel to all whom he could reach, and the seals of his faithful ministry were 
scattered through all the mountains and along the water courses of Hamp- 
shire County. He was one of the original members of the Presbytery of 
Winchester, and Springfield was one of the important churches compos- 
ing it. 

2* Romney* 

Another place in Hampshire, where a Presbyterian organization was 
established at an early date, and to which supplies were sent, was Romney, 
though this place does not appear by name in any existing church Records 
until October, 1781. And the fact deserves attention that when it does 
appear the designation is unusual. It is not called Romney simply, but 
"Romney C. H." Ordinarily these familiar initial letters are used in con- 
nection with the name of the county to designate the county seat. The 
use of it here may be intended to call attention to the fact that the court 
house was now at Romney, which had not always been the case. The 
oldest court house in Hampshire stood in the Valley of the South Branch, 
several miles above Romney, built probably as early as 1756 ; though the 
exact date of its erection is not known. It must have been before 1762, 
as it was in that year that the town of Romney was incorporated and soon 
after became the county seat. 

If the name of this place does not occur in the Presbyterial Records 
as early as might have been expected, it nevertheless occurs under condi- 
tions of unusual interest. It not only asks to be supplied, but also to be 
organized. The minute of Donegal Presbytery for October, 1781, says: 
"Supplications from Romney C. H. and Patterson's Creek, requesting 
supplies, and especially an ordained minister to assist in forming them into 
a regular congregation, and ordaining elders, were read." There is no 
minute telling what ' 'ordained minister' ' was sent; but as such applications 
invariably received the prompt attention of Presbytery, we must assume 
that one was sent and that the church was organized as requested. 

Now the remarkable fact is, that this is not only the first mention of 
Romney in these minutes, it is absolutely the only one found in any Pres- 
byterial or Synodical Records until just prior to the organization of 
the Presbytery of Winchester in 1794. And yet that there was frequent 
preaching there, both before and after 1781, is not open to doubt. Their 
asking to be organized as a church is evidence that they had been for some 



96 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



time in possession of some church ordinances. And we can easily under- 
stand that those minutes — some of which go back as far as 1768 — which 
speak of supplies for "Hampshire" and for "a number of places in Hamp- 
shire County," and for "various places on the South Branch of the Poto- 
mac," and for "the South Branch" itself, had special reference to so im- 
portant a place as the county seat of Hampshire. And when, in April, 
1783, a call was presented to Presbytery from "the South Branch and Pat- 
terson's Creek for the pastoral services of Rev. John McKnight," we must 
believe that whatever other places were included in the general expression 
"South Branch," Romney was certainly one of them. From the time of 
its organization, and probably for some years before, the church interests 
of Romney and Springfield were closely identified, and the relation be- 
tween them continued unbroken for more than a hundred years. Most of 
the supplies that at this early date were sent to either place shared their 
services with the other, and when a pastor was obtained for one he became 
the pastor also of the other. The places are so near that a man can easily 
preach in both on the same Sabbath. 

Returning to the request of these people in 1781 to be "formed into a 
regular congregation, ' ' it becomes a matter of some interest to know what 
sort of an organization was effected, and especially what were its meets 
and bounds. Our interest in this matter arises from the fact that it is com- 
monly believed that all the Presbyterians in Hampshire, save those living 
in the Capon Valley, were originally organized into a single church. Dr. 
Foote, in the preface written by him to the Sessional Records of the pres- 
ent Mt. Bethel Church, says: "Until the year 1833 the members of the 
Presbyterian Church in Hampshire County were all, with the exception of 
those living convenient to the Bloomery, enrolled in one church under one 
eldership. During the year 1833, according to the direction of Presbytery, 
the necessary steps were taken for the division of the church, and in the 
fall of 1833 the Presbytery divided the church of Mt. Bethel and directed 
four new ones to be organized, one on the (Jersey) mountain, one on North 
River, one in Springfield and one on Patterson's Creek, the church in 
Romney not requiring an organization. The reason for this division was 
that the members had become so numerous that in their scattered situa- 
tion the church was unweildly." 

The obvious meaning of this statement is that, until 1833, there was no 
separate and distinct organization at any of the places named. And this is 
now the prevailing opinion touching the matter. But its correctness cannot 
be admitted. That for some time before 1833, all the Presbyterians in the 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



97 



valleys of Patterson's Creek and South Branch were combined in one or- 
ganization is certainly true. But to say that this was so from the begin- 
ning is to contradict the facts found in the Records of both Donegal and 
Winchester Presbyteries. Not only must we assume that churches were 
organized at Romney, Springfield and Frankfort (Patterson's Creek) at 
an early date, but every reference to them suggests that these churches were 
organically distinct. As separate churches they unite in the call for Mr. 
McKnight ; they are separately mentioned when set off to constitute the 
Presbytery of Winchester ; when vacant, are supplied independently ; Mr. 
Lyle is reported to the General Assembly as pastor of these three churches; 
each is required by Presbytery to present a distinct Sessional Report, and 
two of them are put on record as failing to comply with this requirement. 
While for about fifty years prior to 1833 these three churches constituted 
one pastoral charge, yet in the first thirty years of that time they are always 
referred to and treated as distinct organizations. 

A partial explanation of the whole matter is found in the following 
minute of Winchester Presbytery for October 17, 1812, viz : "Mr. Black 
informed Presbytery that the congregations heretofore known on these min- 
utes by the names of Springfield and Romney, having become disorganized, 
have been by him organized into one congregation, hereafter to be known 
by the name of Mt. Bethel." How and when Patterson's Creek became 
merged in this organization we are not able to say. The question does not 
really concern us, as it belongs to a later period than that now under re- 
view. The consideration given it has been intended simply to remove a 
misunderstanding as to the early history of the churches in the lower South 
Branch Valley. 




XIX, WINCHESTER, 

Although Winchester contained some settlements as early as 1738 
and became an incorporated town in 1752, and at the time of the Revolu- 
tionary War contained a population of about eight hundred, it was without 
a distinct Presbyterian organization until September 7, 1800. While there 
were many adherents of that church in the place, they held their member- 
ship at Opecquon, three miles distant, and regularly worshipped there. 
The history of Presbyterianism in Winchester, therefore, is, for at least 
fifty years, identified with that of the old Mother Church. For the sake, 



98 



THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



however, of a connected narrative, we will repeat here, in condensed form, 
the historical statements already given in our sketch of the OpecquonChurch. 

Just when Presbyterian service began to be held here is not known, 
but probably as early as the time of the incorporation of the town, as many 
of the first settlers were people of our religious faith and order. From a 
date earlier than 1736 the members of Donegal Presbytery made mission- 
ary journeys into this Valley, and after that " supplications" continued to 
go up from this region, both to Synod and Presbytery for ministerial sup- 
plies, and many of the supplies that were sent found it convenient to stop 
in Winchester and hold service. 

Rev. Samuel Gelston was sent in 1736 at the special request of the 
people of "both parts of Opekin;" and he was the first Presbyterian 
minister to visit and preach in this region by appointment of Donegal Pres- 
bytery. He was followed the next year by Rev. James Anderson, who in 
1738 or 9 organized the Opecquon church. The church at once called Rev. 
John Thomson, but Rev. John Craig was sent them instead, who remained 
part of the year 1739. The next two years the Rev. Samuel Caven 
supplied the church a large part of the time, during which a Mr. 
Lynn was called, but was not settled. Then followed in succession Rev. 
Messrs. McDowell, John Robinson, John Hindman, John Blair, Eliab 
Byram and William Dean. Then the Synod of New York was formed in 
consequence of the unhappy schism in the church ; and as the people in 
this region were more in sympathy with the "New .Side" they were 
the supplies sent by the new Synod of New York that principally visited 
this church until the schism was healed. Besides the visit of Dr. Blair,it en- 
joyed the frequent, but brief, services of such distinguished men as the 
Rev. John Roan, Samuel Finley, Samuel Blair and the two Tennents, Gil- 
bert and William. Meanwhile the Old Side Synod of Philadelphia and 
the Presbytery of Donegal continued to send their ministers, but as their 
services were not desired their visits became less frequent. 

From the time the Opecquon church was organized, efforts had been 
made to obtain a pastor, but without success. In 1754 Licentiate John 
Hoge, the cousin of Rev. Moses Hoge, D. D., was called, and the next 
year was ordained and installed. He retained his pastoral relation until 
April, 1772, when he was released. The vacancy thus created continued 
until 1781, but during that period the church was supplied at intervals by 
Rev. Messrs. Vance, McKnight, Balch, Slemons, Thompson, Craighead 
and Linn, appointed by Donegal Presbytery. In October, 1776, a call was 
given to Rev. Mr. Slemons, but his services were not secured. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



99 



It was this year (1776) that Mr. Fithian visited the churches in this 
Valley. He stopped in Winchester on his way to Opecquon and gives us 
a glimpse of the town at that time. He writes : 

"Monday, May 22. Winchester, the county town of Frederick. A 
smart village nearly half a mile in length, and several streets, broad and 
pretty full. The situation is low and disagreeable. There is on a pleas- 
ant hill northeast from the town, at a small distance, a large stone Dutch 
Lutheran church, with a tall steeple. In the town is an English church. 
North of the town are the ruins of an old fort, wasted and crumbled down 
by time. The land is good, the country is pleasant, the houses in general 
large." 

A fortnight later he made a longer visit in Winchester, of which he 
writes : 

"Tuesday, June 6, 1776. After dinner with Captain Holmes and 
Captain Hunter, I rode to Winchester. The Court was sitting. Mars, the 
great God of Battle, is now honored in every part of this spacious colony, 
but here every presence is warlike — every sound is martial — drums beat- 
ing, pipes and bagpipes playing and only sonorous and venic [sic] music. 
Every man has a hunting shirt, which is the uniform of each company. 
Almost all have a cockade and bucktail in their hats to represent that they 
are hardy, resolute and invincible natives of the woods of America. The 
County Committee sat. Among other resolves they passed this resolute 
and trying determination: 'That every member of this county between 
sixteen and sixty years of age, shall appear every month at least, in the 
field under arms, and it is recommended to all to muster weekly for their 
improvement.' June 8 x x x x Today, for the first time, I went 
through the 'new exercise,' gave the word and performed the action. 
One shipe of this town was backward this morning in his attendance with 
the company of Independents. A file was sent to bring him. He made 
resistance, but was compelled at length, and is now in great fear and very 
humble since he heard many of his towsmen talk of tar and feathers." 

The name of Winchester in connection with Presbyterianism first ap- 
pears in existing records in October, 1779. The Rev. John McKnight is 
appointed to supply here. Two years later ( 1781 ) it had become large enough 
and important enough to be named with Opecquon and Cedar Creek in the 
call extended to Rev. John Montgomery of Hanover Presbytery. From 
this the inference is fair, that, for some time previous to that date, wor- 
ship was statedly held in the town. But it is certain that from this 
time until a separate organization was secured, Winchester is always asso- 



100 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



ciated with the two above-named churches as a place of prominent import- 
ance in the combined pastoral charge. 

Mr. Montgomery remained the pastor of this charge until 1789. He 
was a man of attractive character and an instructive preacher, and by 
reason of his faithful service the cause of Presbyterianism, both in town 
and county, made satisfactory progress. In the town especially its growth 
was very considerable. It was during his ministry here that Lexington 
Presbytery was erected, and the churches around Winchester, and includ- 
ing Winchester, were turned over to it from Donegal. The Synod of Vir- 
ginia also, and the General Assembly were organized while Mr. Montgomery 
was pastor here. 

The Rev. Nash Legrand was next called and began his ministry here 
in 1790. Up to this time, Winchester had been merely an appendage of 
Opecquon, but its growth in numbers had now given it an importance de- 
manding more recognition than it had hitherto received. Services were 
held in town more frequently than formerly and sometimes they were ar- 
ranged for independently of the parent church. Under the successful min- 
istry of Mr. Montgomery the congregation had so increased that a more 
commodious place of gathering became a necessity, and before his ministry 
closed arrangements were made for the erection of a house of worship that 
would meet the growing requirements of the town. The old stone church, 
still standing in good repair, at the eastern end of Piccadilly street, is the 
house that was then built. Though not entirely completed it was ready 
for use in 1790, and the Synod of Virginia met in it in the fall of that year. 

That old church, though no longer used for Presbyterian worship is a 
building of unusual historic interest. Besides the distinguished men who, 
as pastors, have occupied its pulpit — Legrand, Hill and Riddle — nearly 
all the famous Presbyterian ministers of our country from 1790 to 1834 
have preached within its walls. It was honored by a meeting of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1799 — the only place out of 
Philadelphia (with a single other exception) in which for a period of almost 
fifty years that venerable court had ever met. The Synod of Virginia has 
met in it eleven times — more frequently than in any other church whatever. 
In it, October, 1791, during a session of the Synod, the Rev. Archibald 
Alexander, D. D., was licensed to preach the Gospel. In it also the 
Presbytery of Winchester was organized in 1794. 

To this statement it may be of interest to add, that in the year 1834 
(October 13) the old church, with ten feet of ground at each end and fif- 
teen feet in the rear, was sold for the use of the Baptist church for 500 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



101 



years. In 1858 they sold it to the colored Baptist church, and it is now 
leased by the School Board of Winchester for the use of the Colored Pub- 
lic School. During the war between the States it was completely disman- 
tled and used as a stable for the Federal troops. 

The first pastor to occupy the pulpit of the new church was Mr. Le- 
grand. But the popularity that always attended his ministry in the coun- 
try portion of his charge was not so fully accorded him in the town. He 
had not been very long settled in his pastorate before differences and then 
dissensions began between him and some of his members here. These 
were due in part, though not altogether, to his extreme views touching re- 
vivals — a matter much discussed in the church at that time. He was a 
pronounced revivalist. His preaching was mostly confined to a limited 
range of topics, and he freely used the "new measures" then commonly 
employed to promote revivals. Some of his best members in Winchester 
who had but recently arrived from the old country, where they had been 
accustomed to a different style of preaching, and where revival measures, 
as conducted here, if known at all, were disapproved, looked with suspi- 
cion upon his methods and grew weary of his constant and passionate ap- 
peals to their feelings. Unfortunately, Mr. Legrand had no tact for deal- 
ing with those who had taken offence. The alienation which had begun 
increased until there was an open rupture. He asked Lexington Presby- 
tery to release him from his pastoral charge, but at the organization of the 
Presbytery of Winchester he was persuaded to withdraw that request. 
Gradually he curtailed the number of his appointments, and about the year 
1797 or 8 he withdrew his services altogether from Winchester. 

As early as 1791, before any breach had occurred, the people in Win- 
chester, with a view to more frequent service than the pastor of Opecquon 
and Cedar Creek was able to give them, had opened negotiations with 
Cool Spring church (Gerrardstown) to unite in securing a minister who 
would give his entire time to these two places. Cool Spring had even 
gone so far as to petition Carlisle to allow that church to be transferred to 
Lexington that this scheme might be more easily carried out. But for 
some reason unknown to us, the plan failed of accomplishment. Later the 
people here, acting independently, but apparently with the approval of 
Presbytery, extended calls to several ministers, neither of whom could be 
secured until in 1800 the opposing factions came together and made out a 
unanimous call for Rev. William Hill, of Charlestown, who promptly ac- 
cepted, and the same year was settled in the charge which he retained for 
thirty-four years. The church in Winchester was organized September 7, 
1800, though it was counted as one of the churches of Winchester Presby- 
tery when that Presbytery was organized six years before. 



102 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



XX. LEESBURG- 

This church comes first into notice under another name, and that a 
name not at all suggestive of Presbyterianism, viz: "The Parish of Came- 
ron." The county of Loudoun was laid off in 1757, and Leesburg, the 
county seat, was established by law one year later. But the "English 
Church," as the Protestant Episcopal was then generally called, had di- 
vided the county into "parishes," and the county seat was embraced in 
the Parish of Cameron ; and it was by that name that it was commonly 
called. This parish, with that of Shelbourne, in the southwest angle of 
the county, contained some Presbyterian families who desired to enjoy 
again their own form of worship. These two parishes, therefore, either 
by a joint petition or by independent requests that happened to go up to 
the same meeting, supplicated the Presbytery of Donegal for supplies. 
That the same supply was appointed for both fields may be taken as evi- 
dence that a joint petition was sent. The minute recording the action of 
these people is, for October, 1780. "Supplications for supplies from the 
Parish of Shelburn in Virginia, and from the Parish of Cameron in Loudoun 
County were presented." In answer to their petition, Licentiate Samuel 
Waugh was appointed to supply them until the next spring. Subsequent 
to this action we find this minute, the exact date of which is in doubt, 
viz: "The Parish of Cameron in Loudoun County sends an application rep- 
resenting their sad destitution and stating that they had made choice of 
Mr. Waugh, a Licentiate of this Presbytery, to be their minister, and pray- 
ing the Presbytery's concurrence," etc. Whereupon "Presbytery appointed 
Mr. Waugh to supply them until its next meeting, and appointed parts of 
trial for his ordination at that time." Unfortunately, their expectations 
respecting Mr. Waugh were disappointed. He accepted a call to two 
churches in Pennsylvania, in the service of which his whole ministry was 
spent. He was a man of sterling character, a careful student, and accept- 
able preacher and faithful pastor. 

In the next minute touching this field, the name of Leesburg appears 
for the first and only time. When the Rev. David Bard was dismissed 
from the charge of the Kittocktin and Gum Spring churches, June, 1782, 
he " was ordered by the committee that had released him, to supply Lees- 
burg until the next meeting of Presbytery." As that town was his native 
place, it is quite probable that Mr. Bard complied with this order, and that 
Leesburg had his services until the next October. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 103 

This, so far as we know with certainty, was the beginning of Presby- 
terian worship in that important town. And yet, if it is admissable to go 
outside the Records, it seems not unlikely that Rev. Amos Thompson, and 
his successors at Kittocktin, had held frequent services in Leesburg before 
Donegal had been asked for supplies. Their readiness to call Mr. Waugh 
so soon after their first petition was sent, is strong proof that they must 
already have had some kind of an organization, .and that they considered 
themselves strong enough to sustain a minister. Of its history for the next 
twenty years very little is known. The tradition is — and perhaps it is a 
matter of record — that the Leesburg church was organized by the Rev. 
James Hall, D.D., of North Carolina, in or about 1804, when he was on 
one of his numerous journeys from near Charlotte, N. C, to the General 
Assembly at Philadelphia. During thirty years he attended the Assembly 
as a commissioner sixteen times, though the distance and hardships of travel 
were so great. He made the journey in his gig, and that vehicle became 
quite familiar to the people living along his route, which, in Virginia, lay 
through the counties of Culpeper, Fauquier, and Loudoun. Whenever it 
was possible to do so, he preached, and frequently at Leesburg. And the 
tradition is, that on one of these famous journeys he stopped in that town 
long enough to hold a protracted meeting and organize the Presbyterians 
into a church. 

Leesburg was not assigned to the Presbytery of Winchester at the 
time of its organization. None of the congregations in the Northern Neck 
east of the Blue Ridge were. This was done two or three years later, when 
the Presbytery began to send supplies to the vacancies over there. Lees- 
burg does not appear in the minutes as a pHice to be supplied, or other-, 
wise, for six or seven years, though as afterward appears, it was claimed 
by the Presbytery as one of the churches over which its supervision was 
extended. Rev. John Mines was its first regular pastor. 




XXL GERRARDSTOWN. 

The first reference we find to this important church is in the minutes 
of Donegal for April, 1783, and then it comes to our notice under a name 
almost unknown to this generation — "Cool Spring." This spring is four 
or five miles south of Gerrardstown on what is known as the "Runny- 



104 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



meade Farm," which has been owned for fifty years or more by Mr. 
Wilson Coe. It was there that the Gerrardstown church was founded. 
The date at which Presbyterian worship began there cannot now be ascer- 
tained, nor do we know by whom this worship was first conducted. It is 
pretty evident, however, that service must have been held at this place, 
and with some regularity, a considerable time before the congregation first 
comes to our notice, for it first comes to us as an established congregation, 
asking that a certain minister be appointed to supply it, with a view to his 
being called as the pastor, and that minister one of the most eminent of 
that day, the Rev. John McKnight, who had just been released from Elk 
Branch. This request was a joint one from Cool Spring and Bullskin, and 
indicates that these new people, of whom we have heard nothing before, 
had no little confidence in their strength and their ability to do their share 
in sustaining the ordinances of the Gospel. 

The next reference to Cool Spring is in April, 1791, when it overtures 
the Presbytery of Carlisle to consent to its transfer to the Presbytery of 
Lexington in order that it may join with Winchester (already in Lexington 
Presbytery) in securing a minister who would give his whole time to those 
two places as a new and separate pastoral charge. We are not told what 
answer Carlisle returned to this overture, though the probability is that it 
was granted. The General Assembly the next year (1792) made the Po- 
tomac River the dividing line between the Synods of Philadelphia and Vir- 
ginia, thus throwing all the churches south of the Potomac into the Synod 
of Virginia, except the church of Alexandria, whose Synodical relations 
were left unchanged. But while the desire of Cool Spring for a change of 
•its Presbyterial relations was secured, its proposed joint action with Win- 
chester in the effort to obtain a pastor was not accomplished. 

As we have not access to the Records of Lexington, under whose 
jurisdiction this congregation had passed, we have no further official ref- 
erence to it until the organization of Winchester Presbytery. Yet there is 
an interesting fact in its history, for the knowledge of which we are in- 
debted to Dr. Foote. This church, which from the first had such vigor, 
and which, as we have seen, manifested such zeal to secure a pastor, 
seemed at length to have had their hopes crowned with success. They had 
arranged in 1793 for the settlement of a most promising young minister, 
Rev. Thomas Poage, a licentiate of Lexington, the youngest son of Mr. 
John Poage, of Augusta County, and a brother-in-law of Rev. Moses Hoge. 
He had just been married and was about to remove to Gerrardstown to be- 
gin his pastoral work, when, on the first of October, 1793, he was suddenly 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



105 



stricken down by death. To add to the pathos of his early removal under 
circumstances so affecting, his aged mother, long an invalid, sank under 
the shock, and in a few weeks followed her son to the grave. It was six 
years later before a pastor was actually settled at Gerrardstown. In 1799 
the Rev. Joseph Glass, just licensed by Winchester Presbytery, was called, 
and labored acceptably among these people for many years. 

The removal of the church from Cool Spring to the growing village 
of Gerrardstown occurred about the time of Mr. Poage's lamented death. 
But while, by reason of the removal, its name was changed, it still was 
not called Gerrardstown, but "Middletown," and by this name it was en- 
rolled as one of the original churches of Winchester Presbytery. Just when 
it was regularly organized as a church cannot be stated with certainty, but it 
is thought to have been before the removal took place. Its first Ruling 
Elders were Messrs. William Wilson, Matthew Rippey and Samuel Mc- 
Kown. 

As soon as the removal was decided upon, measures were taken for a 
suitable House of Worship; and the large brick building, lately replaced 
by the present handsome church, was begun. It was not completed, how- 
ever, for many years after; but as soon as the walls were run up, and the 
roof on, and the doors and windows in, and before the floors were laid, a 
temporary pulpit was arranged, and they began to use it as a place of wor- 
ship — the congregation, as one of those early worshippers related the facts 
to me, sitting on the sills and sleepers with their feet resting on the ground, 
and, even in the coldest weather, without fire. 




XXIL CHARLESTOWN, 

Charlestown gets its name from Col. Charles Washington, who owned 
the land on which it was laid out. He was the brother of Gen. George 
Washington. The town is older than the county, of which it is the county 
seat. It was established in 1786, and one year after we meet the name 
for the first time in Ecclesiastical Records. A supplication for ministerial 
supplies was sent up from this place to Carlisle Presbytery in 1787. This 
was probably the first direct effort made by the people in that town to ob- 
tain regular Presbyterian worship for themselves. Those of our faith and 



106 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



order who resided in or near the place —and they had now become quite 
numerous — had been accustomed to attend worship either at Bullskin^or 
Elk Branch, the two places being about equally distant. 

But the movement of this people toward independent and permanent 
worship did not stop, indeed, it did not begin, with their request for a 
preacher; they had already made arrangements to secure a place for preach- 
ing. In the same year in which their petition went up to Presbytery they 
purchased from Charles Washington, for "£20 current money of Virginia," 
a piece of land, in the South-western part of Charlestown, on which to build 
a Presbyterian church. The deed for this property was signed and de- 
livered February 17, 1787, and was "ordered to be recorded at a court held 
for Berkeley County the 18th day of April, 1787." The original deed 
laid in the office of the clerk of that county for almost one hundred years. 
In 1885 it was discovered among the papers in that office and is now in 
the keeping of the Board of Trustees of the Charlestown church. The 
deed was made ' 'to David Kennedy, John White, Peter Burr and Jacob 
Conchlin (farmers)," "at the suit, and for the use of the Charlestown con- 
gregation of Presbyterians." On the lot thus purchased a small stone build- 
ing was erected, which, in the early part of the nineteenth century, was re- 
placed by a more commodious structure, also built of stone. When the 
present large and handsome church was built in 1852 the old church was 
sold to the late Maj. W. J. Hawkes, who had it taken down, stone by 
stone, and re-erected on another site, in exactly its original form, and was 
used, until very recently, as a carriage factory. 

It was with this proposed equipment for religious work and worship 
that the little band of Presbyterians in Charlestown made jiieir first appli- 
cation to Presbytery for recognition. What arrangement was made for 
their supply, now that they felt themselves important enough to be- 
come a distinct congregation, we do not know. The minutes are silent as 
to any response from Presbytery. But that they received supplies with a 
good deal of regularity, and that they soon had some kind of an organiza- 
tion among themselves, seem clear from the fact that only four years later 
(in 1791) Charlestown was an important member of that group of congre- 
gations which applied for and secured the services of William Hill, a licentiate 
of Hanover Presbytery, then working under direction of the "Commission 
of Synod." This group was composed of Bullskin, Charlestown and 
Hopewell. Altogether the membership was not large, but the field offer- 
ed many attractions to such an active and enterprising preacher as young 
Hill. His labors for the "Commission" had made him widely known in 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



107 



all parts of the State, and numerous calls from important fields were urged 
upon his acceptance, and the fact that, from among them all, he selected 
this one from the Lower Valley, is proof of the estimate he placed upon 
the prospect for substantial growth which that field presented. 

This call introduces in our history one of the most distinguished names 
to be found on our Presbyterial roll. 

William Hill was of English ancestry, the son of Joseph Hill, of Cum- 
berland County, Va., and was born in that county March 3, 1769. Pre- 
pared for college by Drury Lacy, he was graduated in 1788 from Hamp- 
den-Sidney, then under the presidency of John Blair Smith. He made a 
public profession of religion while a student in college and his mind was at 
once turned to the ministry, his studies for which were pursued under the 
direction of President Smith. After his licensure by Hanover Presbytery, 
July 10, 1790, he entered upon missionary work under the Commission of 
the Synod of Virginia. During the two years nearly that he continued in 
this work he visited pretty much all the missionary fields in the State, from 
the Chesapeake Bay to the crest of the Alleghanies. A part of this time 
was spent in the counties in the lower end of this Valley, where he made 
the acquaintance of the people among whom the great work of his long 
and laborious life was performed. He was settled in Charlestown in 1792, 
and in October of that year was married to Nancy, daughter of Colonel 
William Morton, of Charlotte County, Va., with whom he lived in tender- 
est affection for almost sixty years. Her death, which occurred in May, 
1851, preceded his own by only eighteen months. 

From his pastoral charge at Charlestown, Mr. Hill was released May 
15, 1799, having been induced to undertake missionary work west of the 
Ohio River. Before his departure, however, he was unanimously called 
to the recently organized church in Winchester. The circumstances at- 
tending this call were such that he was constrained to abandon his plan 
of going West and he removed to Winchester, where he remained until 
1834, when he tendered his resignation and removed to Prince Edward 
County. After preaching for awhile at the Old Briery Church, he became 
stated supply for a time of the second church in Alexandria; but after two 
or three years' absence he returned to his old home in Winchester, where 
he remained until his death, November 16, 1852. His remains were in- 
terred in Mount Hebron Cemetery. 

Dr. Hill was a man of commanding personality. Above the average 
height, and finely proportioned, his appearance, even in old age, was im- 
posing. His vigorous intellect, impressive oratory, and skill in debate, 



108 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYIERIANISM 



made him a power in all the courts of his church. Having strong convic- 
tions, which he was never afraid to avow, and possessed of a temperament 
that could brook no opposition, it is not surprising that he sometimes found 
himself in collision with men of the same determination with himself. 
Both in his Presbytery, and in the church to which most of his long minis- 
try was given, he was often in sharp and prolonged controversy with his 
brethren. He was an able, and when thoroughly aroused, a popular and 
very powerful preacher, and was very successful in his earnest efforts to 
extend and strengthen the church. 

"In 1816 the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred 
upon him by Dartmouth University. Some of his brethren used jocosely to 
tell him that his title to D.D. was not valid, because the institution that 
gave it had no legal existence, and subsequently died by a decree of court" 
(Sprague). 

In 1819 he was moderator of the General Assembly, and during his 
long life was the recipient of many honors from his church. 

Some interesting particulars connected with the settlement of Mr. Hill 
at Charlestown are given in his missionary diary and in the minutes of 
Lexington Presbytery. For these we are indebted to the sketches of Dr. 
Foote. He was chosen a missionary by the Commission of Synod 
September 21, 1790, and until the next April labored east of the Blue 
Ridge. Then he was ordered ' ' to itinerate the districts of Hanover and 
Lexington for six months." In obedience to this order, he visited the 
counties of Richmond, Lancaster, Northumberland, Prince William, Faq- 
quier, and others; then crossing to the head waters of the James, he jour- 
neyed northward through Bath, Pendleton and Hardy, and then across the 
mountains into Frederick and Berkeley. Resting a few days at Cedar 
Creek, with his friend Legrand, he, on Thursday, the 15th of September, 
1791, entered the field in which nearly the whole of the remainder of his 
life was to be spent. On that day he preached at Bullskin; the next day 
in Charlestown "to a small congregation," and at night "at Mr. John 
White's, an old Israelite, indeed, whose house could not contain the peo- 
ple, whose attention was very great." On Saturday he preached at Mr. 
Peter Martin's, and spent that night with Moses Hoge at Shepherdstown, 
for whom he preached the next morning (Sabbath), and in the evening for 
Mr. Vance at Martinsburg. The next day (Monday) he preached at Tus- 
carora, and on Wednesday, the 21st, at Winchester, in the church he after- 
ward occupied for so many years. " Many could not get into the house, 
and had to return home without hearing the sermon." The next Sunday 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 109 

he assisted at the communion at Cedar Creek, and on Wednesday, the 
28th, he met the Synod, and the Commission of Synod, in Winchester, 
where he was taken sick, and could not resume his labors until November. 

Before the adjournment of Synod, Mr. Hill learned definitely of the 
reception his preaching in the Charlestown field had met. An earnest call 
for his pastoral services was presented to him, and accepted, but with the 
understanding that he could not enter upon the work until he was released 
from his engagement with the Commission of Synod. This, and the con- 
dition of his health, would occasion some delay. He therefore arranged 
with his friend, Archibald Alexander, who was present for licensure by 
Lexington Presbytery, to occupy the field until he was ready to take charge 
of it himself. Mr. Alexander entered upon this work the next week, and 
continued it until the next spring, preaching there and in neighboring con- 
gregations without remuneration. 

It was not until April 9, 1792, that Mr. Hill was able to make report 
of his mission and resign. Hanover Presbytery received him back from 
the Commission of Synod, and transferred him to the care of Lexington 
Presbytery for his settlement in the field to which he had been called. 
When the Presbytery of Lexington met for this purpose at Charlestown, 
May 28, 1792, it was found that the credentials of Mr. Hill had not arrived. 
But upon the testimony of a minister that he was present in Hanover Pres- 
bytery when the proper papers were ordered and made out, Mr. Hill was 
received and his examination for ordination was begun. The next day he 
preached his trial sermon in Charlestown from / John, 5:10. On May 30th 
the ordination services were held in the Episcopal church, a mile or so from 
Charlestown, the ruins of which are still standing on the Smithfield turn- 
pike. Mr. Hoge preached from the text " Thou, therefore, endure hard- 
ness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," and gave the charge. It is not 
certain that Mr. Hill was regularly installed, but he was officially placed 
in charge of the congregations of Bullskin, Hopewell and Charlestown; and 
served them with all that wonderful zeal and ability for which, through his 
whole ministerial life, he was so distinguished. 

Soon after Mr. Hill's settlement, the Elk Branch church, which had 
been for some time vacant, was partitioned between Charlestown and 
Shepherdstown. This was in 1792, and added very materially to the size 
and strength of both congregations. What change this accession of mem- 
bership made in the organization at Charlestown we do not know. There 
are no records extant that enable us to say: It is not unlikely that Mr. 
Hill availed himself of this increase, which included one or more ruling 



110 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



elders, to effect a complete organization of his church, though this may 
already have been done; for the date of that organization is a question 
which cannot now be decided. There is a minute in the Records of Win- 
chester Presbytery for October 6, 1815, which says, " Presbytery received 
information through Mr. Matthews, that since the last meeting a Presby- 
terian church had been organized at Charlestown. ' ' But the proof is posi- 
tive that there was an organization there more than twenty years before 
that date. When the Presbytery was erected Charlestown was named as 
one of the "churches" that had a pastor. In February, 1795, an elder 
from this church had a seat in Presbytery. And when Mr. Hill tendered 
his resignation, May 15, 1799, it was not until the Presbytery was satisfied 
that the previous measures required by the discipline of our church had 
been taken, ' ' that Presbytery ' ' granted his request and released him from 
his pastoral charge." The Presbyterial minute, so far as it implies a first 
organization in 1815, is unquestionably an error. The minutes of a con- 
gregational meeting held earlier in that year — and which have been pre- 
served — show conclusively that it was a 1 ' reorganization ' ' for which the 
people had asked. Charlestown was an important church on the roll of 
Winchester Presbytery at its formation. 




XXIIL MARTINSBURG. 

Although Martinsburg is one of the oldest towns in the Valley of Vir- 
ginia, and one of the largest west of the Blue Ridge, and largely settled 
originally by Scotch-Irish, and very many of whose leading families were 
Presbyterian, yet no Presbyterian church was organized there until Decem- 
ber 25, 1824. The county of Berkeley was formed in 1772; and this town 
was laid out by Adam Stephen, esq., about 1774, and was established by 
law in 1778. Rev. P. V. Fithian, from whose diary we have frequently 
quoted, visited Martinsburg in 1776, when the whole country was astir with 
excitement and preparation for the great war then in progress. He writes: 

" May 19, 1776. This village (Martinsburg) is yet in infancy. Two 
years ago the spot was high woods. There are now perhaps thirty houses. 
They have already built a prison of stone and strong; and are making a Court 
House of no inconsiderable size and elegance. Probably if American lib- 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



Ill 



erty be established, for which we are now contending even in blood, this, 
with many other infant villages, in a series of years, will be prosperous and 
wealthy towns, especially if the navigation of this long river can be effected." 

The town derived its name from Col. T. B. Martin, a nephew of Lord 
Fairfax. It is not likely that a nephew of Lord Fairfax should be a Pres- 
byterian. But in the Records of Donegal for April, 1785, there is a min- 
ute in which a " Mr. Thomas Martin, of Martinsburg, Va.," is mentioned 
as calling up a certain judicial case, the nature of which is not stated, but 
which the Presbytery, after some consideration, ' ' referred to the Synod 
for judgment." Turning to the Records of Synod for more definite infor- 
mation, we find for May 19, 1785, this interesting minute, viz: " The fol- 
lowing question, referred to Synod by the Presbytery of Donegal for their 
decision, was brought in by the Committee of Overtures, viz: ' Whether 
on full proof of adultery by one party, the Presbytery has a right to declare 
the marriage so far void, as that the innocent party may marry again with- 
out being liable to church censure?' And after some time spent in debat- 
ing the case, it was moved, and agreed, that each member should speak to 
the question in the order of the roll. After which the vote was put, and 
the question carried in the affirmative, by a small majority " (p. 509). 

This matter may have no direct connection with the history of the 
church, or with any individual member of the church in Martinsburg. It 
is given here to show how our church in the latter half of the eighteenth 
century sometimes thought and acted. It has the more importance because 
the Presbytery of Donegal, seventeen years before this, April, 1758, had 
' 'judged that a Presbytery could absolve a church member from his cov- 
enant of marriage," and the Synod of that year, in reviewing the records, 
had taken exception to this action. 

It is not until 1792 that any mention of Martinsburg in connection with 
religious worship is found in the Presbyterial minutes. In that year "sup- 
plications from Tuscarora for themselves, and for Martinsburg, and Back 
Creek" were presented to Carlisle Presbytery ; and that single minute is all 
that we find in the Records of either that Presbytery or of Synod, touch- 
ing the matter until the organization of Winchester Presbytery. 

From this, however, it is not to be assumed that no Presbyterian wor- 
ship was held at that time in Martinsburg. The contrary we know to be 
the fact. It was with that town, as with so many others in the early his- 
tory of this Valley. The prevailing custom was to plant the first church in 
the country ; and such members as were in the neighboring towns would 
go out to that church to worship. It was so at Winchester, Gerrardstown, 



112 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



and Charlestown. And it was so at Martinsburg. The Presbyterians re- 
siding there held their membership at Tuscarora. But, as was the case 
everywhere else, these town members as soon as practicable arranged for 
frequent, if not stated, worship at home. Beginning with a weekly prayer- 
meeting, an occasional sermon would soon be secured and at length a reg- 
ular appointment for Divine worship would be made. That this was the 
condition of things in Martinsburg might be safely inferred from the fact, 
not only that one of the principle Tuscarora elders, Mr. William Riddle, 
had his home there, but from the further fact that the Tuscarora pastor 
himself, who at first lived at the eastern base of the North Mountain, had 
moved his residence to the town. It follows, as a matter of course, that 
such a zealous and faithful pastor as Hugh Vance, would not fail to furnish 
all possible church privileges for the people of his own charge among whom 
he lived. When Mr. Hill preached in Martinsburg Sabbath evening, Sep- 
tember 19, 1791, there is no intimation that such a service was anything 
unusual. He seems to have filled the regular appointment for that day, 
though the pastor was too ill to conduct the service himself. That such 
service had become a regular thing, at least as early as 1792, and that Martins- 
burg was then one of the stated appointments of Presbytery, is evident from 
the fact that when in that year the General Assembly had made the Poto- 
mac River the dividing line between the Synod of Philadelphia and the 
Synod of Virginia, the Presbytery of Lexington reported, that in conse- 
quence of that action she had "added the churches of Carmel (/. e. Shep- 
herdstown), Martinsburg" etc., to her roll. 

XXIV* FRONT ROYAL. 

Front Royal is the county seat of Warren County. It nestles snugly 
in a beautiful cove, among the western foot-hills of the Blue Ridge, near 
the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah. The 
name is peculiar and many inquiries are made as to its origin. Our 
inquiries lead to the conclusion that no one now can answer this question 
with certainty. There are, however, two traditions which profess to 
account for the name, both running back to the eve of the Revolutionary 
War. One throws suspicion upon the patriotism of the people and is, 



) 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 113 



therefore, generally discarded. The accepted tradition is, that, in the drill 
of soldiers in preparation for the war then impending, a certain officer, whose 
knowledge of tactics hardly measured up to his rank, was training his men 
in the public square where stood an unusually large specimen of the Royal 
Oak. Wishing his company to execute a certain manoeuvre which required 
them to face in a certain direction, he could not recall the proper com- 
mand, became confused and in his chagrin blurted out abruptly and hotly, 
"Front the Royal." This order became a by- word which was jestingly 
fastened upon the village, and as the phrase ' 'Front Royal" was picturesque 
and not wanting in euphony, the villagers wisely drew from the joke its 
sting by adopting that as the name for their town. 

This name, so far as we are aware, does not appear in any Ecclesias- 
tical Records until after the erection of this Presbytery, and yet the con- 
gregations of which it is the successor had an existence several years earlier. 
These congregations were known as "South River" and "Flint Run." Of 
their origin and of their history, prior to about 1789, we have no reliable 
information. When the Presbytery was formed in 1794 the two "churches" 
of South River and Flint Run, then supporting a minister, were assigned to 
its care. The location of each is definitely known. 

" South River " was about two miles south of Front Royal on the road 
leading to Luray. Persons still living remember an old log church which 
stood on an eminence overlooking the South Fork of the Shenandoah 
River, from its proximity to which it derived its name. That old building 
has long since gone to utter decay, and no one knows now by whom it was 
built or by whom it was owned. But from the manuscript diary of "Parson' ' 
Williamson which we have read, it is quite certain that this was the "South 
River Church" in which he preached for so many years in his early minis- 
try, and that it was a "Union Church" in which Baptists and Methodists 
also preached. 

"Flint Run" is a stream three or four miles further south, coming 
down from the Blue Ridge and emptying into the Shenandoah. There is 
no vestige of a church building there now, nor is there any tradition that 
there ever was one there. From the diary just referred to, it appears that 
all the appointments of Mr. Williamson on Flint Run were made at private 
houses. While at each of these places there was a good number of Pres- 
byterian families, and frequent services were held at both, yet the inference 
is a fair one, that Flint Run was regarded as of secondary importance and 
rather an appendage of South River than an independent church. There 
is no evidence of any elders there, nor of any regular organization. 



114 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



The people living at each of these places seem to have been among 
the most prominent and prosperous of all that region, and showed great 
zeal in the support of their church. At what period Presbyterian worship 
was begun among them, we have no means of determining, nor do we know 
by whom services were held before Mr. Williamson came to the field, be- 
yond the fact of an occasional appointment by Mr. Montgomery and Mr. 
Legrand of Opecquon. But under the earnest and faithful ministry of Mr. 
Williamson this charge soon grew into great importance. His ministry here 
began in 1792 ; before that time it is doubtful whether any proper church 
organization existed at either place. We do not meet with the name of any 
elder until November 29, 1794, when James Perry and William Bailey were 
elected, and the next day were ordained. From the first, services were 
held statedly and were well attended. When the Presbytery was formed 
the two places were giving their minister a support, though, as in the case 
of nearly all the preachers of that time, his salary was supplemented by 
the proceeds of a school which he conducted. The new Presbytery evi- 
dently regarded this field as one of the most promising within its bounds. 
Its second meeting was adjourned to meet at South River, and the fourth 
meeting also. It was the first place in which the Presbytery held a second 
meeting. As there was nothing in the business of either of these meetings 
requiring a session at that place, these frequent adjournments to South 
River must be taken as a proof of the prosperity and importance of the 
church at that time. It deserves notice here, that of the three ruling elders 
in attendance at the first meeting of Winchester Presbytery, one, Mr. James 
Perry, was from the South River church. 

When the services were transferred from South River Meeting House 
to Front Royal, and the town became the central place of worship, we do 
not know. The change was probably a gradual one and must have begun 
soon after the organization of the Presbytery. At that time appointments 
for preaching began to be made at the "School House" which was in the 
village, and in October, 1795, the first movement was made for obtaining 
a subscription for the building of a Presbyterian Church at Front Royal. 
When the Presbytery was in session at South River in June, 1796, it one 
day adjourned to Front Royal for an afternoon session. This is the first 
time we meet with that name in the Church Records. A few years later 
the name of South River disappears and that of Front Royal takes its place. 

Before closing our sketch of this church it may be of interest to state, 
that while we have been concerned mainly, if not exclusively, with the 
planting and growth of Presbyterianism in Warren County, we have not 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



115 



been ignorant of the fact that other branches of the Christian Church were 
also actively at work there. Both Baptist and Methodists were strong rivals 
of the Presbyterian Church. This may have been the case everywhere, 
or almost every wheres else. But as the evidence of this denominational 
competition did not appear in other cases, no reference has been made to 
such a fact. But in the region of Front Royal the case is different. For 
much that we know of that region we are indebted to the diary of Mr. Wil- 
liamson and in that diary constant mention is made of meetings held at South 
River and Flint Run, and Front Royal by Methodist, and especially by 
Baptist, preachers. Mr. Williamson writes of his frequent attendance at their 
services, and though often expressing his dissent from their teaching and his 
disapproval of some things in their worship, yet his reference to them is 
always made in the kindest spirit, and his relations to them seem always to 
have been of the most fraternal character. The simple fact we want to 
bring out in this statement is that in planting our church within these 
bounds, the Presbyterians did not have the field to themselves. In some 
cases the Episcopal, and in others the Reformed and Lutheran Churches 
dispute with them the claim to precedence. Even when our preachers 
were first on the ground, the probability is that ministers of other denom- 
inations soon appeared to look after the interests of the peeple of their own 
faith and order. 

Rev. William Williamson, the real founder of the Front Royal church, 
was a Scotchman by birth, born in Edinburg about 1764, and obtained his 
collegiate and professional education in his native land. He had just grad- 
uated in law and had obtained his license to practice, when several young 
men, with whom he had been associated in the university, proposed to him 
to go with them to America. In accepting their proposal it was without 
the most remote idea on his part of remaining in this country. But the long 
and stormy voyage, during the whole of which he was desperately sick, so 
disgusted him with the ocean that he could never be induced to cross it 
again. When he reached New York he had to be carried in a blanket from 
the ship to the hotel, where for a long time he was confined to a sick bed. 
When able to travel he came to Virginia and engaged in teaching in Lan- 
caster County. He was converted on the ocean and at once decided to 
give himself to the ministry of the Gospel. Accordingly, soon after his 
settlement in Virginia, he began, with characteristic diligence, a course of 
study preparatory to his high calling, under the direction, probably, of the 
ministers supplying or visiting the churches in that part of the Northern 
Neck. At the first opportunity that offered, in the spring of 1792, he 



116 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



attended a meeting of Hanover Presbytery in order to be taken under its 
care as a candidate. But when the Presbytery entered upon his exam- 
inations they found him so proficient in all branches of study that he was 
pronounced ready for licensure, and, as he writes, "contrary to his expec- 
tations and desire," they did license him. This was done, according to 
the entry in his own diary, May 12, 1792, although every other authority 
gives October 12, 1792 as the date. After his licensure he preached for 
a few months in the neighborhood of Gordonsville, when he crossed over 
into the Valley of the Shenandoah and began his long and successful labors 
in Warren County. The necessity of being fully qualified for ministerial 
work in this field soon forced itself upon him, and in the fall of the next 
year he met his Presbytery in Cumberland church, stood his examinations, 
preached his trial sermon from II. Cor., 5:20 and was ordained to the full 
work of the ministry November 11, 1793. Rev. Drury Lacy preached 
the ordination sermon and delivered the charge. 

Returning to his field, he entered upon his duties with renewed zeal. 
His labors were not confined to South River and Flint Run, but were given 
to points far and near that were asking for preaching. Frequent appoint- 
ments were made for Powell's Fort, Woodstock, Stoverstown (Strasburg), 
Weavers Mill, Front Royal and other places. Besides these engagements, 
long and exhausting journeys were made to the mountains west of Capon 
River and to the counties east of the Ridge. 

To give the advantages of education to the young men of his section 
and to increase his insufficient income, he opened (March 17, 1794) an 
English and classical school at Front .Royal, which was well patronized. 
That it might not interfere with his ministerial duties, he employed an 
assistant, who was himself abundantly competent to carry on the school. 
After some years he was induced to transfer his school to Loudoun County, 
near Middleburg, where it soon acquired an enviable reputation for thor- 
oughness and excellence, and contributed largely to his influence for good 
over those who came under his instruction. 

Mr. Williamson was a man of uncommon energy and endurance. He 
was ready for any demand upon him, though his health was never robust. 
Neither distance, nor weather, nor bodily infirmity could deter him from 
meeting an appointment, if it were possible for him to reach it. A ride of 
forty miles, with a sermon or two, was no unusual task for a single day; 
and this often with a storm to breast, a mountain to cross, and swollen 
rivers to swim. 

He was a strong man both in the pulpit and in the courts of the church, 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 117 

and everywhere a bold and able advocate and defender of the Presbyterian 
polity and faith. He was a ready and convincing speaker. In debate his 
vigorous mind acted with great promptness. His voice was strong, his 
enunciation clear, and under excitement his action was vehement. A fellow 
Presbyter writes of him, that "in argument he excelled all men in his Pres- 
bytery, and in strength of style and expression he had no superior. His 
sermons — never dull — were often overpowering. The ablest men in the 
community that listened to him, and most of them did, felt that, in point 
of intellect and information, he was their peer" (Foote, II, 315). 

His appearance and manner in the pulpit, and the matter of his dis- 
course made him an impressive preacher even to children. A venerable 
lady, the widow of the late Giles Cook, sr., still living in Front Royal at a 
very advanced age, often attended his ministry in her childhood, and dis- 
tinctly remembers some of the texts from which he preached, and even 
some of the striking expressions in his sermons and the hymns he gave out . 
He was a man of devout spirit and deep piety, having a most humble esti- 
mate of himself and a constant sense of his dependence upon God. Singu- 
larly free from ambition, he devoted himself chiefly to missionary work, 
and after a life of great usefulness he calmly died February 1, 1848, in the 
eighty-fourth year of his age, and in the fifty-seventh of his ministry. He 
was buried in Warrenton, Va. 

Mr. Williamson was married three times: first, December 21, 1792, to 
the widow Furman, the accomplished daughter of Colonel Stevens, of New- 
town, Frederick County, Va., who died December 4, 1793, leaving an infant 
daughter who survived the mother less than two years. His second mar- 
riage, December 8, 1795, was with Miss Rebecca Allen, daughter of Col. 
William Allen, one of the most wealthy and influential of the South River 
congregation. She was the mother of three children, only one of whom 
reached maturity, viz: Dr. Philip Doddridge Williamson, a physician of 
Front Royal, and a man of remarkably exemplary and lovely character. 
His third wife was Miss Sara North Newton Moss, of Upperville, Fauquier 
County, Va., by whom he had nine children, seven sons and two daugh- 
ters. She survived him fourteen years, dying in 1862. One daughter by 
this marriage, Miss Catherine Williamson, of Warrenton, Va., still survives 
him. 



118 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



XXV. NORTHUMBERLAND AND LANCASTER. 

The fact is probably known to but few now living, that there were 
once flourishing Presbyterian churches in the extreme eastern point of the 
Northern Neck of Virginia. These churches were in the counties of North- 
umberland and Lancaster, both of which counties are washed on the east 
by the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. It is possible, also, that there were 
churches of our faith, as it is certain there was frequent Presbyterian 
preaching in the two counties just above these, viz: Richmond and West- 
moreland. Of the planting of these churches, and of their earliest history, 
we have no certain information. It has been suggested that they had their 
origin in the faithfulness and zeal of John Organ, a pious schoolmaster from 
Scotland, who had made his home somewhere in the Northern Neck, and 
who, according to a reliable tradition, introduced the worship of the Pres- 
byterian church in the region in which he taught, and even secured for a 
time the services of so distinguished a minister as Rev. James Anderson, 
formerly pastor in the city of New York. But as neither the precise time 
of Mr. Organ's labors in Virginia nor the place of his residence is known, 
his relation to the churches of which we are now treating cannot be posi- 
tively affirmed. It is probable he did not take up his residence there 
earlier than 1730. 

Our first definite knowledge of any Presbyterian interest in the lower 
Northern Neck goes no further back than January, 1757; and for almost 
all the knowledge we have, we are indebted partly to the Records of Han- 
over Presbytery, and partly to a fragment, that has been preserved, of a 
Journal kept by Col. James Gordon, of Lancaster County. Colonel Gor- 
don emigrated, with his brother John, from Newey, Ireland, sometime 
before 1740. They settled on opposite sides of the Rappahannock River; 
James in Lancaster County and John in Middlesex. Both were intelligent 
and enterprising shipping merchants, and each attained to large wealth and 
influence. Their descendants are numerous, and some of them highly dis- 
tinguished, both in Virginia and elsewhere. These men were devoted 
Presbyterians, and the character and lives of the established clergy in the 
region where they settled, constrained them, in the interest of vital religion, 
to secure for their families and others the form of worship in which they 
had been reared. The services of Presbyterian ministers were obtained, 
and in spite of many difficulties, and in the face of obloquy and persecution, 
the Presbyterian Church was finally set up and maintained for more than a 
hundred years. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



119 



That churches were organized in both these counties is very certain, 
and probably in Richmond and Westmoreland also, but as our information 
touching the history and work of the respective churches is not definite 
enough to enable us to say what properly belongs to one, and what to an- 
other, we must be satisfied to treat them as one field — always remembering 
that the church at Lancaster C. H. was the largest and most important in 
the group. 

When these churches first come to our notice, it is evident that they 
had already been established for some time and one or more of them had 
attained to considerable strength. The first mention of either of them is 
for April 27, 1757. Hanover Presbytery receives "an importunate appli- 
cation from persons in and around Richmond County," and appointed 
Rev. Samuel Davies to preach there in June. In July of the same year a 
similar application came from Northumberland and Lancaster and Mr. 
Samuel Davies was sent to spend several weeks in the Northern Neck. 
The next year (1758) Rev. Henry Patillo was directed to spend several 
Sabbaths there in April and also in June and July. Mr. Davies was ap- 
pointed to preach there again in the Fall of 1758, and also to hold a sacra- 
mental meeting the next March. And so from meeting to meeting of 
Presbytery, applications are made from these four counties, and supplies 
are sent, until the Fall of 1762, when the Rev. James Waddel was settled 
as pastor and remained until 1778. 

The entries in Col. Gordon's Journal begin January, 1759, and end 
December 31, 1763, and are most interesting and instructive as exhibiting 
the zeal of the people and the growth of the church. We find that they 
were favored repeatedly with the ministerial services of such men as Samuel 
Davies, John Todd, the Messrs. Martin, Hunt, Kilpatrick, Henry, and that 
distinguished patriot, Rev. James Caldwell, who was afterwards barbarous- 
ly murdered in New Jersey; in fact, every minister of Hanover Presbytery 
preached with more or less frequency to these people. 

Equally interesting are the names of the families composing these 
churches, some of them among the most honored and influential in the 
colony, such as Selden, Carter, Watson, Robertson, Mitchell, Belvard, 
Shackelford, Wright, Morris, Criswell, Graftemead, Glasscock, Flood, 
Chichester, Thornton, Gordon, and others. Many of these gentlemen 
could be relied on to conduct worship when a minister could not be secured. 
Such entries as these are frequent in Col. Gordon's Journal, "Sunday, May 
3, 1761. This day Col. Selden read a sermon in the meeting house and 
John Mitchell prayed." Again, "Mr. Criswell read a sermon and prayed 
at the meeting house," and so repeatedly. 



120 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



Not a few indications are found that piety in the household was care- 
fully cultivated. We meet with this entry, e.g. "Sunday, January 31, 
1762. At home with my family. Molly said all the Shorter Catechism. 
James, fifty-six of the Larger, and Mollie Herring one hundred and six." 

As giving some clue to the numerical strength of these churches we are 
told that at the celebration of the Lord's Supper, in one of them 
(supposedly the onelat Lancaster Court House), there were present March 
25, 1759, besides the visitors, 54 communicants; at another time 53, not 
counting the visitors; again "20 new communicants and 50 old ones;" 
again, "about 70 black and white, though the day was rainy." Again 
"the communion was administered to 90 white and 23 black communicants," 
and still later (September 11, 1763), "to about 115 white and 35 black." 

The meetings in Northumberland were first held in a store-room owned 
by Col. Gordon, but in 1761 a commodious meeting house was erected, to 
the building of which the Lancaster church freely contributed. 

It is almost a regular entry, that when proper notice was given and 
the weather was not unfavorable, the congregations which gathered at these 
services were very large. When the meeting was held at a private house 
the attendance often was greater than the house could hold. 

In June, 1762, we are told, "a lottery was drawn for the advantage of 
the congregation, and in a satisfactory manner," for which the good 
colonel adds, "Blessed be God." 

February 27, 1763, the following gentlemen were elected Ruling Elders 
in the Lancaster church, viz: Mr. Chichester, Thomas Carter, Dale Carter, 
John Mitchell, Col. Selden and Col. Gordon. 

The planting of our church in Eastern Virginia was effected under 
conditions vastly different from those which prevailed west of the Blue 
Ridge. In the Valley ours was, to a large extent, the pioneer church. 
There were no hostile interests from which serious opposition was to be en- 
countered. But in the tide- water region the case was altogether different. 
There the English church was established by law, and "dissent" in what- 
ever form was frowned upon and opposed. In some places it was inter- 
dicted altogether. The restrictions under which at last it was allowed to 
have an existence were severe and humiliating, and it required strong con- 
victions and no little courage, to endure the persecution and ridicule to 
which all dissenters were subjected. The Presbyterians in the Northern 
Neck felt the full force of this opposition. Their attempt to introduce dis- 
senting worship, where the Established church claimed exclusive jurisdic- 
tion, was openly resisted. And from the first they were subjected to a 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



121 



bitter persecution, both of violence and contempt. The Gordons and a few 
others of kindred spirit met this with a resolution born of faith in God. 
But there were many whose courage failed in the hour of trial. While the 
effort, to establish a church at Northumberland, was still an experiment, 
Col. Gordon returned from a meeting there and made this entry in his 
Journal, "went to meeting today, a pretty large company of common peo- 
ple and negroes, but very few gentlemen. The gentleme n who were inclined 
to come are afraid of being laughed at. Mr. Minzie [the rector] endeavors 
to make it such a scandalous thing." When his own church was closed 
Col. Gordon and his family were accustomed to attend the English church, 
but once he makes this entry, "Sunday. At home with my wife and family 
where I have much more comfort than going to church, hearing the minis- 
ters ridicule the dissenters." Though a man of even temper and courteous 
speech, he once under their coarse and abusive treatment of himself and 
friends, is provoked to write, "they behaved like blackguards." Every- 
thing possible was done to prevent the success of the Presbyterian church. 
The business interests of its members were interfered with. Threatening 
and scurrilous letters were written by the clergy to the preachers who ven- 
tured within their parishes. Sermons were largely taken up with the abuse 
of those dissenting from the Established Church. Evangelical religion 
was ridiculed as bigotry and fanaticism. Farces were written and played 
in caricature of Presbyterianism. Under such difficulties and discourage- 
ments it is a wonder that our church survived; yet its growth was steady 
and even rapid. 

Though served for many years by supplies from Hanover Presbytery 
or by missionaries, these churches made frequent and earnest efforts to se- 
cure a pastor for themselves whom they were well able to support. These 
efforts, however, failed until in 1762, Licentiate James Waddel was induced 
to settle among them, and under his wise and able ministry they entered 
upon a new era of prosperity, though the persecutions to which they had 
been subjected in no wise ceased. 

Mr. Waddel, "The Blind Preacher," whom Mr. Wirt in the British 
Spy has immortalized, was born at Newry, in the north of Ireland, in July, 
1739. In his infancy he was brought to America by his parents, who set- 
tled on White Clay Creek, Pa. His mother was a devotedly pious Pres- 
byterian. An injury to his left hand, received in his boyhood, which dis- 
qualified him for manual labor, decided his father to give him a liberal 
education. This he obtained largely at the Academy at Nottingham, Md., 
taught by Dr. Samuel Finley, afterward President of Nassau Hall. Such 



122 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



was his proficiency, especially in the classics, that at an early age he was 
made an assistant in the school. Here he was admitted to the commun- 
ion of the church. Resolved to devote himself to teaching, he set out to 
find a settlement in the South. In Hanover County, Va., he met Rev. 
Samuel Davies, by whom he was persuaded to change his plans and 
devote himself to the ministry, He entered at once upon his theolog- 
ical studies under direction of Rev. John Todd, of Louisa County, and 
was licensed by Hanover Presbytery at Tinkling Spring, April 2, 1761. In 
October of the next year he was settled over the churches in the counties 
of Lancaster and Northumberland, and was ordained in Prince Edward 
June 16, 1763. 

When this settlement was made, Mr. Waddel looked upon it as only 
a temporary arrangement. Both his convictions and his inclinations were 
in favor of a field of labor in Pennsylvania. But such were the spiritual 
destitutions of the region, and such the hospitality, intelligence and piety 
of the people among whom he labored that his reluctance to making his 
permanent home in the Northern Neck was soon overcome. His people 
found in him everything they could desire in a minister and treated him 
with every mark of affectionate regard. About the year 1768 he was 
united in marriage to Mary, daughter of his elder, Col. James Gordon,who 
shortly afterward established him in a new and commodious house on the 
Curratoman River. It soon became evident, however, that his health 
would not endure that malarial climate. He suffered each year from an 
attack of intermittent fever, and often preached when he was hardly able 
to stand. This, together with the ravages of war, to which the location of 
his home made him peculiarly exposed, led him, in the early years of the 
war, to ask his Presbytery to release him from his pastoral charge. 

As soon as his unsettled condition became known, calls for his serv- 
ices reached him from many fields. And the fact is of special interest to 
us, that the congregations of Opecquon and Cedar Creek, in whose bounds 
Colonel Gordon owned valuable lands, sent up an earnest call for him as 
early as April 14, 1774, which he declined. A call two years later from 
Tinkling Spring was finally accepted, and in 1778 he removed his fam- 
ily to that place. Seven years afterwards, in 1785, he returned to East- 
ern Virginia and made his home near Gordonsville, where the remainder 
of his life was spent, part of which was passed in total blindness. Rev. 
William Williamson, who was his intimate friend, tells us in his diary, that 
on a visit to him early in 1795 he found his sight seriously impaired, and 
in the summer of that year it was entirely gone. His loss of sight, how- 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF. VIRGINIA. 



123 



ever, did not keep him from the pulpit, and he continued to preach until 
his last protracted illness, which ended in his death of Christian triumph, 
September 17, 1805. 

In 1792 the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on Mr. Wad- 
del by Dickinson College at Carlisle, Pa. 

It was in the early ministry of Dr. Waddel, viz : in the late summer 
of 1763, that George Whitefield made his celebrated visit to the Northern 
Neck, staying there for more than a week and preaching to crowded 
houses. But while his preaching made a profound impression and many 
were added to the churches, we are somewhat surprised to learn that the 
more intelligent people of these congregations were not carried away with 
his eloquence as they were everywhere else. They admired his fervent zeal, 
but did not hesitate to declare their preference for that style of preaching 
to which they had become accustomed under the ministry of Samuel 
Davies and James Waddel. Indeed, we learn, in connection with this visit 
that this great preacher was not without some great faults. Among the 
most conspicuous was his inordinate self -appreciation. In his letters, writ- 
ten to Mr. Waddel after his visit, he does not conceal his high estimate of 
himself as a chosen instrument for the spread of the Gospel. In his account 
of the wonderful results of his preaching he annexes to almost every sen- 
tence several notes of admiration. (!!!) These, however, are only flies 
in the ointment of the apothecary. He was sound in his theology and 
eminently scriptural in his preaching. Whatever defects may have been 
found in his Calvinism in his early ministry, it, at last, was such as to 
satisfy even Toplady, who pronounced him "a sound divine." 

Of Mr. Waddel' s eloquence as a preacher nothing more need be writ- 
ten after Mr. Wirt's famous sketch of his sermon in the meeting-house in 
the woods, with which every reader is presumed to be familiar. Among 
his contemporaries whose judgment is entitled to weight, he was looked 
upon as without a superior in the pulpit. Patrick Henry was accustomed 
to say that Davies and Waddel were the greatest orators he ever heard. 
Gov. James Barbour, of Virginia, declared that Mr. Waddel surpassed all 
orators he ever knew. His brother Phillip Barbour, and many others, 
held the same opinion. It has sometimes been asked if the accomplished 
author of the British Spy did not avail himself of the license of fiction in 
his sketch of the sermon he heard ? But Mr. Wirt himself is on record as 
saying, that "so far from adding colors to the picture of Dr. Waddel' s 
eloquence, he had fallen below the truth," and declared that "though his 
oratory was of a different species, it was fully equal to that of Patrick 



124 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIAN ISM 



Henry." It was the opinion, however, of Dr. A. Alexander (who married 
his daughter) that "the preaching of Dr. Waddel, which was so greatly 
admired by the intelligent and refined, did not equally attract and move 
the illiterate and ignorant. Often such would prefer hearing the unedu- 
cated declaimer." 

It is with sadness we record that these churches, once so flourishing, 
are now extinct. After the removal of Mr. Waddel to the Valley of the 
Shenandoah and the death of Col. Gordon they visibly declined and finally 
were pretty much absorbed by the Baptists, the prevailing denomination 
in that part of the Northern Neck. The decline of these churches was due 
largely to the fact that the estates of our people, lying near the two navi- 
gable rivers and the bay, were peculiarly exposed to the ravages of British 
vessels during the War of the Revolution. The property of the wealthy 
Presbyterian planters and merchants was carried away and their families 
were reduced from affluence to poverty. After the organization of Win- 
chester Presbytery supplies were sent regularly to Lancaster and North- 
umberland for fifty years or until our churches there had entirely ceased to 
exist. 




The congregations, whose early history we have here been trying to 
trace, embrace all within our Presbyterial bounds, to which, according to 
official records, missionaries or supplies were sent, and over some of which 
pastors were settled prior to December 4, 1794. Doubtless there were 
other places at which supplies sometimes preached, or at which pastors 
may have had stated appointments, as e. g. Strasburg, Woodstock, 
Powell's Fort, etc., where as we learn from the diary of Mr. Williamson, 
he and Mr. Legrand, and perhaps others, occasionally preached. But this 
was not by Presbyterial appointment and up to the time of the organiza- 
tion of Winchester Presbytery, these places had not developed sufficient 
ecclesiastical importance to entitle them to special notice in this history nor 
are they mentioned in the Presbyterial Records. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



125 



And now that we have reached the period of our Presbyterial organi- 
zation, let us take a hasty survey of the field committed to the oversight 
of this new judicatory. In this survey we will find that — 

Presbyterianism made greater advances in the Valley than in Eastern 
Virginia. In the whole of the Northern Neck there were now about thirty 
different congregations under the care and supervision of Presbytery. Less 
than one-third of these were on the east side of the Blue Ridge, and while 
four or five of these were regarded as organized churches, only one of them 
was in charge of a pastor, and that one (Alexander) had already been 
transferred to another Presbytery; while on the west side there were six 
settled ministers, who, whether regularly installed or not, practically sus- 
tained the relation of pastor to the churches they were serving. 

And here it would be interesting to know in what manner and to what 
extent these early churches were organized. That they all were fully 
equipped as our ' 'Book of Church Order' ' requires is very far from prob- 
able. It is much more likely that the greater part of them did not have 
such an organization as we would be willing now to recognize. Two or 
three congregations in Eastern Virginia and perhaps eight or nine in the 
Valley, may have been in a condition to meet the requirements of the 
present day, but, in many places the proper material for church officers 
was not at their command, and the people had to content themselves with 
such an organization as would enable them to secure public worship, with 
such Gospel ordinances as could be obtained. Our fathers meant to be 
Presbyterians pure and simple. Their preference for their own church was 
decided, but in the unsettled condition in which they found themselves, 
they laid more stress on its doctrines and worship than on its polity. For 
doctrine they were especially zealous. If sometimes seemingly indifferent 
in reference to forms they were always very solicitous in reference to faith. 
They were valiant for the truth. The preaching of their ministers was 
carefully watched, and a stranger was sometimes subjected to a rigid ex- 
amination as to his orthodoxy, before he was admitted to their pulpit. 
Every man that preached to them must be a Calvinist of a pronounced 
type. His indulgence in wine — or in something stronger — might be over- 
looked; but for the slightest departure from the doctrines of the West- 
minster Confession there was no tolerance. As might be expected of such 
men, they were careful to have their children trained up in the strict faith 
of their fathers. And repeatedly, as we have seen, when a supply was 
asked for a vacant church, it was stipulated that one should be sent who 



126 



THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



would take time to give instruction, to both parents and children, in the 
catechisms of the church. In this zeal for an acquaintance with the Pres- 
byterian standards, the old Presbytery of Donegal, at least, was in full 
sympathy. When supplies were sent, they were specially charged, in 
many instances, to be diligent in catechising the people to whom they 
preached. But this method of doctrinal instruction was not left to preach- 
ers alone. Parents themselves were deeply solicitous that their children 
should be "brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord/' 
Family religion was carefully cultivated; and as an important aid to this, 
the Sabbath recitation of the Catechism, both Larger and Shorter, was not 
neglected. 

In our hurried review of the planting of our church in this region, we 
are made more and more sensible of our indebtedness to those sturdy immi- 
grants, who penetrated these solitudes, and laid here the foundations of 
that civilization, and wealth, and freedom which we now claim as our 
priceless heritage. We recognize, with gratitude, the foresight, and cour- 
age, and patience, and industry, they displayed, in the risks they ran, in 
the labors they expended, and in the sacrifices they endured, that they 
might reclaim the wilderness from the savage, and fit it for the abode of 
civilized man. But we would do them serious injustice, if we did not hold 
prominently in view that stalwart faith which kept them always mindful of 
their dependence upon God, and of their responsibility to Him. It was 
their simple, unfeigned piety, as humble followers of the Lord Jesus, that 
led them to erect a church wherever they settled; and to build fcr God, 
wherever they built for themselves. His cause was as dear to them as 
their lives, and the ordinances of His House as necessary to them as their 
daily bread. 

But while we admire the Divine grace in these men that kept them 
faithful to the teachings of their fathers, and made them zealous for the 
Kingdom of God, we must not forget that devoted band of earnest, self- 
denying preachers of the Word, by whose godly ministry the piety and zeal 
of these hardy pioneers was kept alive. In the whole history of the Chris- 
tian Church, abounding as it does, from first to last, with deeds of heroic 
devotion and self-sacrifice, there is scarcely anything better fitted to call 
forth our admiration than the faith, and endurance, and patient toil of these 
noble heralds of the cross, who were chiefly instrumental in carrying the 
Gospel into these solitudes and planting the church in the vallies, and on 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



127 



the plains, and among the mountains, and by the water-courses of the New 
World. Though few in number, they set agencies in operation that have 
accomplished wonderful results. But they did it at a cost of time, and. 
toil, and self-denial, that speaks volumes for their zeal, and consecration, 
and endurance. The places which they visited, and where congregations 
were gathered by them, which they were often sent to supply, were, many 
of them, hundreds of miles from their homes. To reach them the solitary 
journey must be performed on horseback, and often through pathless for- 
ests. Mountains had to be crossed by Indian trails. Swollen rivers had 
to be forded. Storms must be breasted, and the extremes of heat and 
cold encountered. Shelter for the night was not always assured. In our 
day, when we can travel to our appointments over the smoothest roads, 
with a speed that almost annihilates space, and, if we please, in a parlor 
coach; and at the end of an easy and rapid journey, are welcomed to a 
richly-furnished home, with its warm chamber and luxurious bed; we can 
hardly imagine the exposure, and weariness, and privation, and hardship 
that a missionary appointment meant to the men of that early day. The 
cheerfulness with which, under these forbiding circumstances, they accept- 
ed the mission and filled their appointments, challenges our highest admi- 
ration. 

There was another hardship of a very different character from those 
just named, with which the pioneers of Presbyterianism had to contend in 
planting their church in Northern Virginia. I refer to the opposition they 
encountered from the civil government, inspired by the Established Church. 
For reasons already intimated this opposition was greatly relaxed in the 
Valley counties, but east of the Ridge it made itself seriously felt wherever 
an attempt was made to introduce any worship other than that of the Eng- 
lish Church. It is not pleasant to speak of this, and the subject has been 
avoided as much as possible in the previous pages. But the heroic spirit 
of the early fathers, and the true history of that period would be imper- 
fectly understood if silence were maintained in regard to the persecutions — 
sometimes petty, but often violent — which, in colonial days, were visited 
upon the men of our faith and order, when they undertook to worship God 
here after the manner to which they had been used at home. 

It was under the auspices of the Church of England that the first 
colonists came to Virginia, and for nearly a hundred years no serious effort 
was made to introduce the faith and worship of any other Church. But 
when the effort was made it was met with the most determined oppo- 



128 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



sition. Existing laws, if not so intended, were so interpreted, as not only 
to discourage, but to forbid what was contemptuously called "dissent." 
These laws prevailed elsewhere, but they were more grievous and more 
rigidly enforced in Virginia than in any other Colony. Even under the Act 
of Toleration, the worship of dissenters was permitted, when permitted at 
all, only under restrictions of the severest and most humiliating character. 
The minister must obtain a license from the civil authorities and register 
the place of worship, and bind himself by various oaths, not only to ab- 
stain from teaching heresy, but to behave himself peaceably toward the 
government. Special permission must be secured to use even a private 
house as a place of worship. Every possible difficulty was placed in the 
way of obtaining this permission, and when obtained it gave no security 
against molestation. The most outrageous means were often employed to 
disturb and break up the meetings. On one occasion a hornet's nest was 
thrown into the room ; on another, a snake, and, in at least one instance, 
firearms were used to disperse the assembly. In frequent instances the 
preachers were imprisoned and beaten, and "cruelty taxed its ingenuity to 
devise new modes of punishment and annoyance. ' ' 

The "Act of Toleration," passed in 1689, was the measure of the lib- 
erties and privileges of the non-Episcopal churches of Virginia. And 
under that Act all dissenters were debarred from a seat in the Legislature, 
and were not allowed to hold a church building or a graveyard in their own 
name. The Book of Common Prayer must be read in all their assemblies, 
and the sacraments must be administered according to the rites of the 
Established Church. They were taxed for the building and repairs of Epis- 
copal churches, and a competent maintenance of the clergy, with a house 
and glebe in every parish, must be provided at the common charge. At 
every Court House a church must be built for the Establishment at the pub- 
lic expense, while dissenters were obliged to locate their houses of worship 
at some point removed from these positions of influence. In consequence 
of this requirement, down to the commencement of the Revolutionary 
War, there was not a Presbyterian church in any town in Virginia, though 
the ministers of that church were the most learned of any class of preach- 
ers in the Colony. The right to build outside the towns was sometimes de- 
nied ; and even when granted it was often done under conditions unneces- 
sarily harsh and annoying. It was against an opposition as exasperating 
and offensive as this that the fathers had to contend in planting Presby- 
terianism in the Northern Neck. Had their religious convictions been less 
deep, or their Christian fortitude less determined, they would have yielded 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 129 



to the hostile forces arrayed against them and abandoned the effort in 
despair. But the cause was one for which their fathers had contended 
even unto blood, and which their father's God had blessed ; and with a 
devotion which no persecution could weaken, and with a resolution which 
no violence could overcome, they moved calmly forward through scorn 
and obliquy and opposition and finally succeeded in establishing upon these 
western shores "a Church without a Bishop, and a State without a King.*' 

And this indicates both their Presbyterianism and their patriotism, for 
there is no dispute as to the stand they took in the great struggle for the 
liberties of America. They espoused, with the greatest ardour and con- 
stancy, the cause of the Colonies against the aggressions of the mother 
country. This should not surprise us, after what we have seen of the op- 
pression to which they had been subjected from the civil government and 
the Established Church. The fact that their existence was merely tolerated 
and that they were subject to so many unjust demands, naturally weakened 
their loyalfy and determined their attitude toward the Crown. When the 
controversy began, it is true, they avowed their allegiance to the King, but 
when there was no longer any hope of redress, they became the foremost 
advocates for the absolute independence of the Colonies. It was to them 
a question of religious as well as civil liberty, and they entered into the 
conflict with a determination not to lay down their arms until these liberties 
were fully secured. Their course was in striking contrast with that of the 
great majority of the clergy of the Church of England. They had no 
grievance of which to complain. There was no fear of the infringement of 
their ecclesiastical liberties. On the contrary, all their rights and privileges 
were secured to them by the fact that theirs was the National Church. It 
was at the greatest sacrifice, therefore, that any of them should side with 
the Colonies in their struggle ; and hence it should occasion no surprise 
that much the larger number of them remained faithful at once to their 
Church and to their King. It was decidedly to their interest to do so. 
One of them, Dr. Chandler, in defending the action of the British Govern- 
ment, toward the people of America, and the attitude of his own church in 
reference to that action, says: "Episcopacy and monarchy are, in their 
form and constitution, best suited to each other. Episcopacy can never 
thrive in a Republican Government, nor Republican principles in an Epis- 
copal church." But with the Presbyterians and other so-called dissenters, 
the case was entirely different. A change in the civil administration would 
be greatly to their interest ; and such was their zeal for deliverance from the 



130 



THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



foreign yoke that they were found in the forefront of the movement for 
total separation from the country that oppressed them. The Synod of 
New York and Philadelphia was prompt in putting itself on record for the 
independence, or the Colonies. The Presbytery of Hanover, in a memorial 
to the Legislature of Virginia, expressed with earnestness its hearty en- 
dowment of the cause for which the country was preparing to contend. The 
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, advocated and signed chiefly 
by Presbyterians, was more than a year in advance of the Declaration 
issued by the Continental Congress. The zeal of our people may have car- 
ried them too far in the action of their church courts; but surely no charge 
of lukewarmness or backwardness can be laid against them. 

It is to be regretted that statistics are not now at hand to show the extent 
to which the Presbyterians of the Northern Neck embarked in the War of 
the Revolution. In the absence of these, we must be content with the sim- 
ple statement that all the facts that can be obtained bearing on the matter 
make it clear that they stood shoulder to shoulder with their brethren 
throughout the land, and faithfully upheld with their fortunes and their 
lives the cause they so zealously espoused. No shadow of suspicion has 
ever rested upon their patriotism, their fidelity, or their courage. 




Before closing our history of the planting of Presbyterianism here, it 
is important that some definite account should be given of the various 
Presbyterial relations these churches have at different times sustained. 
These relations have been so numerous, and have changed so often, in the 
course of our history, that no little confusion must arise where the facts 
are not distinctly known. The following brief statement will help to re- 
lieve the reader of much of his perplexity. 

The first Presbytery in America was constituted in Philadelphia in 
1705 or 1706. For a period of ten or eleven years this was the only Pres- 
bytery in this country. In 1716 it was sub-divided and the three addition- 
al Presbyteries of New Castle, Snow Hill (in Maryland)' and Long Island 
were constituted and the Synod of Philadelphia was formed. The evan- 
gelistic work of the church was carried on for several years by the Pres- 
byteries and Synod alike. But as the work in Virginia began to grow, the 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



131 



Synod, which had had it in charge, committed it, in 1724, to the Presby- 
tery of New Castle, whose undefined southern boundary extended beyond 
the Potomac. Of the first work of this Presbytery in Virginia we know 
really nothing, as the volume recording it is lost. In 1732 the Presbytery 
of Donegal was formed out of the Presbytery of New Castle; and while its 
boundaries were not carefully defined, it at once began to exercise jurisdic- 
tion in Maryland and Virginia west of the Blue Ridge. In 1755, while the 
rupture of the Synods lasted, the Presbytery of Hanover was formed by the 
Synod of New York, out of the Presbytery of New Castle. At that time 
the only churches east of the Blue Ridge, in the territory that afterward 
belonged to Winchester Presbytery, were those in Lancaster and Northum- 
berland counties; and these fell under the care of Hanover Presbytery. 
After the re-union of the Synods, the churches of the Upper Valley, which 
had been founded and fostered by Donegal, also fell into the bounds of 
Hanover. The missionaries and supplies of this new Presbytery were also 
sent occasionally along the South Branch. This was not regarded as an 
intrusion upon the jurisdiction of Donegal. At that time, and until a later 
period, the Presbyterial bounds south of the Potomac were not strictly 
defined; and it seems to have been understood, that no offence would be 
given if the members of one Presbytery should sometimes be found labor- 
ing in the bounds of another. For a number of years the territory between 
the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers seem to have been common ground 
for the missionaries of Donegal, New Castle, Hanover, and even other 
Presbyteries; but as it was more accessible to the ministers of Donegal, it 
gradually came under the jurisdiction of that Presbytery. 

In 1765 Donegal Presbytery was dissolved, and out of it the Presby- 
teries of Lancaster and Carlisle were formed. The churches south of the 
Potomac were placed in connection with Carlisle. But this action was re- 
scinded the next year, and the Presbytery of Donegal was restored to the 
roll of the Synod. In 1786, however, this Presbytery was divided by the 
Synod into the Presbyteries of Baltimore and Carlisle, and the name of 
Donegal finally disappears. Mr. Keith, the pastor at Alexandria, was 
assigned to Baltimore, but all the other Virginia members of Donegal were 
assigned, to Carlisle. At the same session of the Synod, the Presbytery of 
Lexington was constituted out of that part of the territory of Hanover 
which was west of the Blue Ridge. It was to be bounded on the north by 
the Presbytery of Carlisle (just constituted). The churches assigned to it 
are not named. But among the ministers of which it was to consist are the 
names of John Montgomery, pastor of Opecquon, Cedar Creek, and Win- 



132 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



Chester, and Moses Hoge, pastor of Concrete, on the South Branch. This 
seems to be a recognition of a change of boundary lines, of which there is 
no official record. When the Presbytery of Hanover was formed in 1755, 
it was ordered by the Synod of New York, " that any members settling to 
the southward and Westward of Mr. Hoge's congregations (/. e. t John 
Hoge, pastor of the Opecquon charge) shall have liberty to join said Pres- 
bytery of Hanover." Before 1786, and apparently without any direct act 
of transfer by the Synod, some of the churches belonging to Donegal had 
gotten under the care of Hanover, and were embraced in the new Presby- 
tery of Lexington. This was true of the congregations of Opecquon, Cedar 
Creek, Winchester and Moorefield, with all the territory south of them. 

When, in 1788, the old Synod of New York and Philadelphia resolved 
itself into four Synods, and formed the General Assembly, the Presbyterial 
relations of the churches in Virginia were not disturbed. In the reports 
made to the General Assembly at its first meeting in 1789, we find the 
churches in the territory in which we are interested, reported as belonging 
to the following Presbyteries, viz: 

To Carlisle— Tuscarora, Falling Waters, Back Creek, Charlestown, 
Shepherdstown, Romney, Patterson's Creek and Cool Spring. 

To Baltimore — The Alexandria Church. 

To Lexington — Winchester, Opecquon, Cedar Creek, and Concrete 
(Moorefield). 

To Hanover — Fauquier and Lancaster. 

It will be observed that the churches of Northumberland, Kittocktin, 
and Gum Spring east of theRidge.and of Capon, Springfield and Elk Branch 
west of the Ridge, are not mentioned at all. 

The incongruity, however, of leaving so many of the Virginia churches 
in a Pennsylvania Presbytery, and a Pennsylvania Synod, was so apparent 
that, in 1792, the General Assembly ordered " that the river Potomac be 
the boundary line between the Synods of Philadelphia and Virginia, except 
the congregation of Alexandria, which shall belong to the Synod of Phila- 
delphia." The effect of this order was to change the boundary lines of 
the three Presbyteries of Carlisle, Lexington and Hanover. At its next 
meeting Lexington added to its roll of churches, "Carmel (Shepherdstown), 
Martinsburg, Tuscarora, Back Creek, Falling Waters, Charlestown and 
Hopewell." Cool Spring had, the year before, petitioned for a transfer 
to Lexington and as its name is not mentioned here, we infer that its peti- 
tion was granted. In this transfer no mention is made of Romney, Spring- 
field, Patterson's Creek, Back Creek or Capon; we do not know why. 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



133 



Under this order of the General Assembly Hanover promptly extended its 
northern boundary to the Potomac. 

The action of the General Assembly in making the Potomac River the 
boundary line between these two Synods seems so suitable and proper, 
that we are not a little surprised to find the next year, "a petition from the 
congregations of Tuscarora and Falling Waters, praying to be re-united to 
the Presbytery of Carlisle." This petition was granted; and in that old 
connection these two churches remained until May, 1804, when, on their 
own petition, they were transferred to the Presbytery of Winchester, in 
which relation they have happily continued for a hundred years. 

Before this transfer was made, however, there was another disturbance, 
though only temporary, of the Presbyterial relations of these two churches. 
The Synod of Philadelphia, in the Fall of 1792, recommended to Carlisle 
its division into two or more Presbyteries, and the next August, 1793, Car- 
lisle concluded to divide into four Presbyteries, 1 viz: Carlisle, Huntingdon, 
York and Franklin. In this division, Tuscarora, Martinsburg and Falling 
Waters were assigned to the care of Franklin Presbytery. But the Synod 
disapproved of this division and restored our Virginia churches to their old 
relation with Carlisle Presbytery. 

We have now completed our self-imposed task. We have sketched, 
so far as the material at our command would enable us to do it, the history 
of the planting of Presbyterianism within the territory originally covered by 
the Presbytery of Winchester, down to the time of the organization of that 
Presbytery in 1794. We are fully sensible of the imperfections of this 
work, and we sympathize with our readers in the disappointment many of 
them will feel at the meagre and unsatisfactory character of the sketches 
here presented. Our excuse is, the surprisingly scant material we have found, 
out of which to construct a history. And yet it is hoped that the facts we have 
been able to rescue from an oblivion — into which some of them were rapidly 
falling — few as they are and insignificant as many of them are — may pos- 
sess a certain interest and even value to some, who are eager to learn all 
that can be known that bears even remotely upon the history of their be- 
loved church. 

It remains for us, in concluding this little volume, to record the organ- 
ization of that Presbytery, to which was to be committed the training of 
those churches, the history of whose planting has been imperfectly given. 

In 1794 the conditions were favorable for a separate Presbyterial organi- 
zation in the Lower Valley. There were twenty congregations fully organ- 



134 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



ized for worship, and about one-half of them organized as Presbyterian 
churches. Fourteen of these congregations were in the Valley of the 
Shenandoah — all of which, except Gerrardstown, were served by the five 
pastors then settled here. The other six congregations were in the Valleys 
of the South Branch and Capon. Those in Hampshire County were under 
the ministry of Rev. John Lyle. The two in Hardy County, Concrete 
and Lost River, were vacant. Rev. Moses Hoge had, for seven years, 
served the Carmel (or Shepherdstown) church with such fidelity and 
acceptance that he had gathered there a large and growing congregation, 
and largely through his influence and labors the neighboring congregations 
were greatly enlarged and strengthened. At Charlestown the Rev. William 
Hill had been settled for two years or more, and under his energetic min- 
istry that field, which embraced also Hopewell (or Smithfield) and Bull- 
skin, was rapidly growing in numbers and importance, although Bullskin 
had already begun to transfer its families to the other two churches, thereby 
strengthening them, but resulting, in a few years, in its own extinction. 
At Opecquon and Cedar Creek and Winchester, Rev. Nash Legrand was 
carrying forward most successfully that brilliant ministry under which his 
two venerable churches reached their highest stage of prosperity, while 
Winchester, which for twenty years or more had been an appendage of 
that field, was beginning to manifest some restiveness at a relation which 
did not allow the amount of service to which so large and important a town 
was entitled, and had very distinctly indicated her wish and purpose to 
become an independent church. A few miles to the southeast of Mr. 
Legrand, the Rev. William Williamson was diligently preaching to the 
congregations of South River and Flint Run, and, against the rivalry of 
both Baptists and and Methodists, who were on the field before him and 
whose influence was growing, was quietly building up a vigorous and 
active church of our faith and order. Passing westward to the Lower South 
Branch Valley, we find the Rev. John Lyle, who had recently begun his 
memorable ministry to the churches of Springfield, Romney and Patter- 
son's Creek (or Frankfort, as this church is sometimes called) and whose 
labors, in fact, extended to the whole of Hampshire County. 

Returning now to the Shenandoah Valley, we find the Rev. John Boyd 
just settled over the churches of Falling Waters and Tuscarora, including 
the important congregation which had been gathered at Martinsburg. In 
this interesting field, Mr. Boyd's ministry continued for six years. His 
churches, however, were not a part of Lexington Presbytery, and they 
had so decidedly expressed their unwillingness to be separated from their 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



135 



old associates across the Potomac, when the General Assembly, in 1792, 
had reconstructed the Synodical lines and thrown these churches into the 
Virginia Synod and into a Virginia Presbytery ; that now when they would 
have been very important to the Presbytery about to be formed, and when 
that Presbytery would have been very convenient to them, no movement 
was made to disturb their Presbyterial relations. It was not until ten years 
afterwards that, of their own motion, they were united to our Presbytery. 

The number of congregations and ministers now found in the Lower 
Valley and their proximity to each other, made their formation into a sep- 
arate Presbytery a matter of great convenience, while their distance from 
the churches and ministers of the Upper Valley made such an organization 
almost a necessity. 

Accordingly, the Synod of Virginia, at its sessions in Harrisonburg, 
September 26, 1794, took the following action, viz : 

"On motion it was proposed that the Synod should divide the Pres- 
bytery of Lexington and constitute another Presbytery of a portion of its 
members. The proposition was agreed to, and the division is as follows: 

' 'The dividing line shall begin on that part of the boundary of the 
Presbytery of Redstone, on the Alleghany Mountains, where Hardy County 
is divided from Pendleton, running thence with the said line until the 
same reaches the corner of Rockingham County ; from thence a direct 
course to the place where the great road through Keizletown to Winches- 
ter crosses the river of Shenandoah ; from thence to Swift Run Gap on 
the Blue Ridge, which reaches the boundary of the Presbytery of Han- 
over. 

' 'The members lying northeast of said division shall be constituted a 
Presbytery, and shall be known by the name of Winchester Presbytery, 
consisting of the Rev. Messrs. Moses Hoge, Nash Legrand, William Hill 
and John Lyle, and they shall hold their first meeting at the town of Win- 
chester on the first Thursday of next December. Mr. Hoge, or in his 
absence, the next senior member present, shall preach a sermon on the 
occasion and preside until a new moderator be chosen. 

"On motion, Mr. William Williamson was added to the number 
mentioned in the above minute constituting the Presbytery of Winchester. 
' 'A true copy, certified by 

"SAMUEL HOUSTON, 

"Synod's Clerk." 
The new Presbytery met, as ordered by Synod, "in the Presbyterian 
Meeting House in the town of Winchester, Thursday, December 4, 1794." 



136 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



There were present three ministers, viz: Messrs. Hoge, Legrand and 
Williamson, and three Ruling Elders, viz : William Buckles, of Shepherds- 
town; James Perry, of South River; and Alexander Freely, of . 

Dr. Hoge, by appointment of Synod, presided and preached the open- 
ing sermon from Matt. 13 : 31, 32 (the Parable of the Mustard Seed) and 
was chosen the first Moderator and also the Stated Clerk — which latter 
office he held until October 3, 1807, when he was dismissed to the Pres- 
bytery of Hanover. 

It may here be mentioned, that within three years of its organization, 
the boundaries of the Presbytery of Winchester were extended east of the 
Blue Ridge, so as to include the whole territory of the "Northern Neck," 
except the church at Alexandria. At its session in Winchester, Septem- 
ber 28, 1797, the Synod of Virginia took the following action, viz : "through 
the committee of overtures was now brought forward a proposition to en- 
large the bounds of Winchester Presbytery by the addition of the remain- 
der of the Northern Neck which belonged to the Presbytery of Hanover 
and the following is established as its Southern line, viz : beginning at Swift 
Run Gap, thence a straight line to the head source of the Rapidan River, 
thence down the said river to its confluence with the Rappahannock, thence 
down the said river to the Chesapeake Bay; which proposition was taken 
up by the Synod and agreed to." 

It is not a little remarkable that within the limits of the immense terri- 
tory now added to the Presbytery, there does not appear to have been a 
single resident Presbyterian minister, nor, so far as we can find, a single 
Presbyterian church with the stated ministration of the Word. It is not 
easy to account for this in a region in which before the Potomac River was, 
in 1792, made the dividing line between the two Synods, the Presbytery of 
Carlisle and still earlier, the Presbytery of Donegal, had been so active and 
apparently so successful in missionary labor. It is probable that the field 
was too extensive for Hanover Presbytery, with its limited resources, to 
supply, and naturally the portion to which most of its members were 
strangers would be neglected, and therefore, with the concurrences of all 
parties, that part of the field was transferred to the new Presbytery. As 
soon as the transfer was made Winchester began very actively to supply 
the destitutions east of the Ridge, though its success in that region was 
never such as to inspire or encourage any inordinate measure of pride. 

The five ministers constituting the Presbytery of Winchester at its or- 
ganization were, all of them, men whom the church may well hold in grate- 
ful remembrance for their exalted character and efficient services. All of 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



137. 



them, perhaps, were above the average in ability and excellence. Two of 
them, Hoge and Hill, attained to great eminence in the church; while as 
an effective and popular preacher Legrand excelled them both ; and in 
scholarship and argumentative power Williamson was superior to them all. 
They were then all in the prime of life. Hoge, the eldest, was forty-three. 
Lyle, who entered the ministry at a more mature age than the rest, was not 
much younger than Hoge, and each of the other three was under thirty. 

Four of these men were of Virginia birth and education, the fifth, 
Williamson, was a native of Scotland and a graduate of the University of 
Edinburg. All of them were men whose consecrated talents and fervent 
piety have left their lasting impress on the church. 

The Presbytery organized by these distinguished pioneers was not 
marked at first by rapid growth. Their number was insufficient for the 
adequate cultivation of the large territory assigned them. Scarcely any 
candidates offered themselves for the ministry, and but few laborers could 
be induced to come to a region so remote, and, at that time so difficult of 
access. Yet these men were most faithful to their trust, and unremitting 
in their labors. But in a short time even their limited number was reduced 
by removal and sickness and death. The eminent talent, and ripe scholar- 
ship of Dr. Hoge were claimed for a more important field of usefulness ; 
and he was called to the Presidency of Hampden-Sydney College and to 
the office of training others for the ministry. A few months after his re- 
moval, Mr. Lyle succumbed to the hardships which his labors imposed, 
and he was laid in an unmarked and now unknown grave. Two years later 
the saintly Legrand was compelled to retire from the pulpit in shattered 
health, and before middle life was reached that eloquent voice, that had 
pleaded so earnestly and persuasively and successfully for the Master, was 
hushed in death. Only two of the five were permitted to see the ripe fruit 
of their labors. Long years before they were called to enter into the joy 
of their Lord, it was the privilege of Hill and Williamson to see the work 
they had begun expanding, and gratifying numbers added to their Pres- 
byterial roll, both of ministers and churches. And now, through the 
blessing of the Great Head of the Church upon their faithfulness and the 
faithfulness of those who labored with and have followed them, the Pres- 
bytery which started from such small beginning has attained a strength 
and exhibits a zeal that have given her a place among the foremost in activ- 
ity and influence. She has indeed "become two bands," but the venera- 
ble mother and her honored daughter (Chesapeake) — divided by the Blue 
Ridge, and covering together the Northern Neck — are diligently engaged, 
each with an earnest and able ministry in extending the Redeemer's King- 
dom and in training the churches which the fathers planted. 



138 THE PLANTING OF PRESBYTERIANISM 



TABULATED RECORD 

— : OF :— 

Ministers, Licentiates and Candidates 

— : OF :— 
WINCHESTER PRESBYTERY. 



In the following pages an effort is made to tabulate (in part) the 
records of all who have been connected with Winchester Presbytery 
whether as ministers, licentiates or candidates. These tables, it is be- 
lieved, will add materially to the interest and value of this volume. Their 
preparation has been attended with more difficulty than was anticipated, 
owing chiefly to the defective method in which the earlier Presbyterial 
Records were kept. 

With the records of Licentiates no serious difficulty is found. 

But as to Candidates the record is sometimes perplexing, partly, be- 
cause of the custom which formerly prevailed of receiving some young 
men not properly as Candidates, but as what were termed ' 'Alumni of 
Presbytery" — /. e. as possible candidates, the cost of whose preparatory 
education the Presbytery assumed, while testing their fitness for the minis- 
try. Some of these are dropped after a time while others, their fitness 
having been approved, are placed on the roll of candidates. But often the 
minutes fail to distinguish between these two classes, and quite as often 
fail to indicate when an "Alumnus" is formally received as a "Candidate." 
An additional perplexity arises from the fact, that, in repeated instances, 
the names of the Candidates disappear from the minutes, and no record is 
made accounting for their disappearance. 

As to the Ordained Ministers, it is often very difficult to obtain even 
the limited record we have attempted to give of them. The names of some, 
after a period of service, disappear and the minutes fail to show whether 
this is due to their dismission to another Presbytery or to their death. This 



IN THE NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA. 



139 



failure, in some instances, we have been able to supply from other sources. 
A more frequent difficulty, however, has been to ascertain the fields in 
which many of our ministers have labored. Information on this point, 
especially in the earlier Records, is rarely given, except in connection with 
installations, and as these, at one time, were comparatively few, it is only 
from incidental statements or from sources outside of the Records that we 
have been able to determine to what churches or missionary fields the ser- 
vices of many of our ministers have been given. The statements under this 
head, therefore, may not always be absolutely accurate, but from the care 
taken to arrive at the facts, it is believed that the inaccuracies are not 
numerous. 

The arrangement of these Tables, will, it is supposed, be readily un- 
derstood. The items tabulated are necessarily limited to such facts as the 
Records of the Presbytery furnish. An exception is made in the case of 
the five original members, the dates of whose licensure, ordination and 
death are given and also the names of the Presbyteries by which they were 
licensed and ordained. 

In the column marked "Status When Received" "C" stands for Can- 
didate, "L" for Licentiate and "0" for Ordained Minister. 



140 



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160 



The Roll of Winchester Presbytery 

ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED, 



The Figures Appended to the Names Refer to the Number in the 

Tabulated Record, 



Alden, W. F.; 

Alexander, H. C 

Alomong, A. W 

Andrews, W 

Armstrong, J. A 

Atkins, L. Y 

Atkinson, J. M. P 

Atkinson, J. M 

Atkinson, W. M 

Baber, J 

Baker, D 

Balch, T. B 

Bates, J. H 

Barclay, E. E 

Beall, W 

Bedinger, E. W 

Bell, R. S 

Berry, R. T 89, 

Billings, S 92, 

Bittinger, B. F 

Bittinger, M. H 

Bitzer, G. L 

Black, J 21, 

Boggs, J 11, 

Boyd, A. H. H 74, 

Brown, H. C 

Brown, J. M 

Brown, P. F 

Burr, E. A 

Cameron, W. C 106, 

Campbell, A. W 

Campbell, C. N 119, 

Campbell, E. D 

Campbell, H. C. V 

Campbell, I. N 240, 

Campbell, W. C 

Carrington, A. B 

Carson, I 

Carter, R. W 

Chapman, R. H 

Christian, L. H 

Clark, S 

Clymer, J. M 

Converse, T. E 

Cooper, J. H 

Cosner, W. C 

Crawford, W. A 



104 
263 
146 

33 
217 

52 
116 
110 

99 
103 

25 

88 
123 
272 
209 
185 

96 
134 
176 
141 
148 
235 
131 
122 
179 
211 

47 
200 

66 
127 

83 
242 
262 
251 
257 
221 
233 

98 



Creamer, J. K 133 

Cumpston, E. H 214 

Davis, J. H 153 

Deihl, F 303 

Demory, A 247 

Doll, J 64 

Downey, W. H 197 

Duckwall, J. M 236, 279 

Dupny, B. H 304 

Dutton, W. B 115 

Earle, A. M 292 

Elgin, N 82 

Engle, C. A 295 

Engle, S. M 243 

Entler, G 85 

Epes, T. P 252 

Espy, T 46 

Ewing, C. H 144 

Finley, G. W 194 

Fix, J. J 280 

Fleming, R. H 219 

Foote, D. W 72 

Foote, W. H 31 

Foulk, J. S 246 

Frary, J. L 177 

Friend, W. S 286 

Froat, H. 48 

Gardiner, J 65 

Ghiselin, C 231 

Gibson 20 

Gilkeson, C. D 305 

Gilmore, J. H 225 

Glass, J 7 



Graham, A. T ...229 

Graham, H. T 254 

Graham, J. R 139 

Graham, J. R., jr 248 

Graves, R. J 161 

266 Grillbortzer, G. A 278 

38 Gruver, J. H 293 

124 Hall, R 40 

29 Hamner, J.G 186 

181 Hardie, H 167 

206 Hargrave, J. T 75 

296 Harris, J. M .117 

222 j Harrison, E 150 

178 I Harrison, P 95 



THE ROLL OF WINCHESTER PRESBYTERY. 161 



Heaton, A. C 135 

Henderlite, G. E 258 

Henderlite, P. B 268 

Henry, J. M 118 

Hershey, A. M 155 

Hill, W 4, 87 

Hoge, J. B 18 

Hoge, M 1 

Hoge, S. D 23 

Hollis, C. W 208 

Hoover, T. D 109 

Hopkins, A. C 175, 188 

Hopkins, A. C, jr 259 

Houston, W. W 173 

Hughes, J. E 132, 187 

Hunt, T. P 26 

Hutchison, E. C 56 

Jennings, J. H 102 

Johnston, J 151 

Johnston, W 184 

Jones, J 43 

Jones, T., jr 101 

Kemp, R. T 300 

Kennedy, E 136 

Kennedy, G. W 68 

Kerr, J 90 

Kilpatrick, A. W 93 

Kirk, J 158 

Klipstine, L. F 69 

Knox, J 36, 59 

Lacy, B.T 126 

Lafferty, J. W 277 

Laird, A. F 274 

Lawrence, A 32 

Leach, J. H. C 28 

Lefevre, J. S 213, 230 j 

Legrand, N 2 j 

Leps, J. C 299 j 

Leps, J. H 114 ! 

Lewis, T 108 J 

Leyburn, E. R 276 | 

Leyburn, G. L 192 j 

Likens, T. J 71 

Lingamfelter, E. S 199 

Link, A. G 239 j 

Lodor, J 41 

Loughhead, S. D 160 

Love, W. H 125 

Lowrey, W 42 

Lupton, J. W 183 

Lyle, J 3 i 

McClure, J. A 298 j 

McCune, R. L 172 

McFaden, F. T 234 

McKee, C. B 165 

McMuiran, R. L 182 

McPhail, G. W 112 

Marquess, W. H 60 

Martin, E 133, 191 



I Matthews, H 180 

j Matthews, J 15 

I Matthews, J. D 58, 76 

Matthews, W. C 55 

Miles, M. N 63 

Miller, W. H 244 

Mines, J 9, 13 

Mitchell, J. C 129 

Mitchell, J. D 61 

Moffett, A. S 232 

Moore, J. H 196, 245 

Morrow, J. B 34 

Naylor, J Ill 

Neff, E. E 294 

North, N. G -. 54, 190 

Noyes, J 27 

Oliver, S. S 301 

Painter, J. C 210 

Phillips, J. W 53 

Phillips, J 163 

Pitman, F. W. T 224, 241 

Polk, D 81 

Pollock, A. D 77, 170 

Price, J., jr 265 

Proctor, J. O : 145 

Pugh, J. W 149 

Quigley, J. H 207 

Raymond, M 94 

Raymond, S. M 164 

Riddle, D. H 45, 193 

Robertson, 1 284 

Robinson, J 6 

Robinson, S 62 

Royall, J. J 73 

Russ, J. H 51 

Scanlon, D. H 282 

Scott, A. A 120 

Scott, J. A 107, 198, 271 

Scott, J. A., jr 205, 237 

Scott, J. M 147 

Scott, L. E 220, 250 

Scott, W. C 97 

Scott, W. N 24 

Scott, W. N., jr 203 

Seyferth, W. T. S 290 

Shannon, A. A 17 

Sheetz, W 84 

Sherrard, J. L 215 

Shields, W 12 

Sibley, J. S 289 

Sickles, W 39 

Siler, J. C 291 

Simpson, T. W 91 

Slaughter, J. W 174 

Smith, E. B 169 

Smith, J. P 166 

Smith, Jesse 35 

Smith, Jos 30 

Smith, V. G 285 



162 



THE ROLL OF WINCHESTER PRESBYTERY. 



Smyth, J. J 121 

Snook, E. A 297 

Snyder, H 78 

Somerville, C. W 260 

Sprunt, A 226 

Stephenson, P. D 238, 275 

Stickley, W. W 70 

Stoddard, W 128 

Straith, A 16 

Stribling, C. R. 249 

Strider, J. P 218 

Stuckey, G. W 143 

Thomas J. A 281 

Thomas, J. D 287 

Thompson, A 10 

Thornton, F 37 

Triplett, J. E 201, 269 

Trostle, J. A 283, 302 

Tucker, A. B., M. D 140 

Tustin, S 50 

Vance, J 8 

Vass, L. C 162 

Walker, G. W 195 

Walkup, J. W 212 

WaU, T. G 142 

Waller, M 204 

Walton, W. C 19, 49 

Warden, W. J.. 159 

Washburn, E. D 267 

Welton, A 44 

Welton, F. B 100 

Whaley, F. N 105 



Whealton, R. A 113 

Wheeler, J. E 168 

White, C 137 

White, G. W .189 

White, H. M 216 

White, H. W 261 

White, R 22 

White, R. A 253 

White, R. B 67 

White, W. D 227 

White,iW. Mc 256 

Wilkinson, R. H 57 

Williamson, J. H 152 

Williamson, R. B 130 

Williamson, W 5 

Wilson, E. L 202 

Wilson, L. F 79 

Wilson, SJB 14 

Wilson, V. W 171 

Wilson, W. V 156 

Witherow,T. S 154 

Wright, J. B 80 

Wolf, G. L 270 

Wood, A. W 288 

Woodbridge, J. E 86 

Woods, D. J 273 

Woods, F. M 228 

Woods, W. H 223 

Wood worth, M. G 264 

Woodworth, M. W 157 

Woodworm, R. B 255 



163 



The Roll of Winchester Presbytery, N. S. 

ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED, 



Bell, T. D 20 

Billings, S 4, 45 

Boyd, A. H. H 6 

Campbell, A. W 11 

Creamer, J K 17 

Crawford, W. A 23 

Clymer, J. M 29, 51 

Cumpston, E. H 50 

Diffenderfer, J. M 42 

Duncan, J. M 47 

Fletcher, P 14 

Frary, J. L 16 

French, W. T 13 

Gatewood, J 12 

Graham, J. Mc 22 

Gray, R 44 

Hamner, T. S 15 

Hargrave, J. T 5 

Hill, W 8 

Howard, J 40 

Hunter, M 9 

Janney, E. H 36 

Johnston, W 31 

Kilpatrick, A. W 3 

Leftwich, J. T 49 



Lodor, J 1 

Lupton, J. W 52 

McMurran, J 28 

McMurran, R. L 33 

Mallory, D. G 38 

Matthews, H 34 

Meigs, M 19 

Neil, B. T 32 

Nourse, C. H 39 

Ottinger, W : } 26 

Parkins, A 21 

Phillips, J. W 7 

Pollard, W. H 37 

Pollock, A. D , 18, 41 

Roby, W. O 30 

Royall, J. J 2 

Silcox, W. T 24 

Slaymaker, W 48 

Smith, H. R 27 

Stewart, S. R 35 

Tavener, J. V 46 

Torry, W 25 

Walton, R. H 43 

Wright, J. B 10 




164 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Abernathy's (Springfield) 92 

Act of Toleration 128, 129 

Action of Synod, setting off Presbytery of 

Winchester 135 

Action of Synod extending bounds of Presby- 
tery of Winchester 136 

Alexander, Rev. Dr. Archibald.... 20, 39, 41, 
42, 50, 67, 68, 70, 73, 81, 86, 93, 94,100, 
109, 124. 

Alexandria 79-81, 125, 131, 132 

Anderson, Rev. James 18, 29, 40, 98, 118 

Awakening, Great 25 

Back Creek22, 27, 30, 31, 53, 54-56, 60, 132 

"Back Parts of Virginia" 11, 19, 21 

Bailey, Elder William 114 

Balch,Rev. Hezekiah.52, 64, 70, 71, 82-84, 98 

Baptists, The 86, 115, 134 

Bard, Rev. David 61, 78, 87, 89, 90, 102 

Baron, De Graffenreid 10, 12 

Bay, Rev. Joseph 91 

Bertram, Rev. William 19, 29, 40 

Bierlin, Katarina 13, 14 

Black, Rev. Samuel 19 

Black, Rev. John 79 

Blair, Rev. John 23,98 

Blair, Rev. Samuel 23, 98 

Bloomery 58, 96 

Boyd, Rev. John 54, 61 

Braddock's Road 58 

Buckles, Elder William 136 

Bullskin 16, 19, 21, 26, 29, 31, 39-42, 

64, 72 , 81, 104, 106, 108, 109. 

Bunker Hill (Mill Creek) 6, 12, 27 

Burr, Peter 106 

Bryan, Rev. Eliab 23, 98 

Cacapon 22, 29, 30 

Caldwell, Rev. James 119 

Caldwell, Elder John 18 

Caldwell, Rev. Joseph 61 

Cameron, Parish of 78, 102 

Cameron, Prof. Henry C 12 

Campbell, Elder Robert 73 

Campbell's History of Virginia 13 

Cape Capon Church 56-58, 132 

Cape Capon, Forks of 58 

Capon River 56, 57 

Carter, Robert, Esq 34 

Catechizing the Church 71, 126 

Caven, Rev. Samuel 19, 20, 21, 29, 40, 

42, 98. 



Page. 

Cedar Creek Church 16, 23, 26-28, 47-50 

Cedar Creek, Elders, and Deed for Church.48 

Charlestown Church 81, 82, 105-110, 132 

Chandler, Dr. on Episcopacy and Dissent. 129 

Colvil, Joseph 48, 49 

Commission of Synod 37, 93, 94, 106 

Committee of Supplies 45, 58, 78, 88, 93 

Concrete (South Branch or Moorefield) .....43, 

45, 46, 66, 132. 

Conn, Rev. Hugh 17 

"Conn's Capt. at Culpeper C. H." 82 

Conchlin, Jacob 106 

Cool Spring (Gerrardstown) 41, 72, 101, 

103-105. 

Cooper, Rev. Robert 52, 70, 71 

Craig, Rev. John 19, 20, 44, 98 

Craighead, Rev. John 17, 19, 40, 71, 77, 

82, 98. 

Culpeper C. H 77, 82-84 

Cummings, Rev. Charles 84 

Davidson's History of Presbyterian Church. ..8 

Davies, Rev. Samuel 25, 119, 122, 123 

Dean, Rev. William 23, 98 

Deed for Cedar Creek Church 48 

Deed for Charlestown Church 106 

Deeds, Title, Why so few of early date. 14, 15 

DeGraffenreid, The Baron 10, 12 

Dickenson, Rev. Jonathan 17 

Dill, Col. Matthew 66 

Dissenters Persecuted 18, 19, 120, 121, 

127-129. 

Division of Old Synod 22-25 

Doak, Rev. Samuel 84 

Documentary Proof of Early Settlement of 

Valley of Virginia 14, 15 

Dod, Rev. Thaddeus 62, 63, 93 

Donegal Presbytery, passim. 

Donegal Presbytery, First Meeting in Virginia, 

71. 

Duf fields, Old Church at 69, 70 

Dutch Reformed Church 21, 43, 46, 62 

Early settlement of Shenandoah Valley... 6, 7, 
11-15, 31. 

Elder, Rev. John 28 

Elders of Lancaster Church, names of 120 

Elders of Cedar Creek Church, names of... 48 

Elk Branch Church 13, 32, 33,69-74 

Episcopacy and Monarchy 129 

Established Church, relation of to Dissenters, 
18, 19, 120, 121, 127-129. 



INDEX. 



165 



Page. 

Fairfax, Lord 5, 28, 43,111 

Faith, Stalwart, of Early Presbyterians 126 

Failing Waters Church 22, 29, 31, 51, 59- 

61, 132, 133. 
Families of Lancaster Church, Names of 

Some 119 

Finley, Rev. Mr 93 

Finley, Rev. Samuel 23, 98, 121 

First Presbytery and First Synod Formed... 16 

Fithian, Rev. Philip V 34, 35, 49, 50, 53, 

56. 60, 61, 99, 110, 111. 

Flint Run 113, 115 

Foote, Rev. V/illiam H.3, 7,8,33, 93, 96,108 
Frankfort (see Patterson's Creek) . 

Fra n klin Pr es by tery 133 

Frederick County, formed .12 

Freely, Elder Alexander 136 

Front Royal *. 112, 117 

Gelston, Rev. Samuel 17, 18, 24, 98 

General Assembly in 1791 Takes Steps to Pre- 
pare a History of Its Churches 1, 2 

Gerrardstown 103-105 

Gillett's History of Presbyterian Church... 8, 18 

Glass, Mr. Samuel, 94 

Glass, Rev. Joseph 69, 94, 105 

Gooch, Governor of Virginia 18, 21, 24, 25 

Goodwill Church 16 

Gordon, Col. James 118-124 

Gourdvine 77 

Graham, Rev. William 36, 66, 93, 94 

"Great Awakening, The" 25 

Green, Dr. Ashbel 2 

Gum Spring 85, 86, 87, 88-90, 102 

Hagerstown, Falling Waters and Williams- 
port Call Mr. Bard 61 

Hall, Rev. James, Organizes Leesburg Church 
103. 

Hampshire County 57, 90-92, 95, 96, 97 

Hanover Presbytery...' 99, 109, 122, 130, 

131, 132, 136. 

Hawkes, Rev. Dr 6 

Hawkes, Major W. J 106 

Henderson, Rev. Joseph 82 

Henry, Patrick 123 

Hill, Rev. William.3, 41, 52, 82, 101, 107-110 
Hindman,Rev. John (Hynman) ...21, 40, 98 

Historical Society, Presbyterian 2, 3 

History of Presbyterian Church by Green, Haz- 

zard and Miller 1, 2 

History of Presbyterian Church by Davidson. 8 
by Foote 3, 

8, 33. 

History of Presbyterian Church by Gillett,8, 16 
" " by Webster.. .8 

History of Winchester Presbytery by Dr.Hoge, 
2. By Dr. Hill, 3. 

Plite, Joist 6, 13, 19 

Hite, Colonel 49 



Page. 

Hoge, Elder James 50 

Hoge, Rev. John 26, 28, 45-49, 55, 57, 

81, 98. 

Hoge, Rev. John Blair 69 

Hoge, Rev. Moses 2, 45, 46, 65-69 

Hoge, William 6, 26, 65 

Hollings worth, Lydia, Marriage, 1735 12 

Hopewell Church 81, 82, 109 

Hopewell Meeting House (Quaker) 11, 13 

Hopkins, Dr. Samuel 86 

Howard, John, pioneer 43 

Howe's "Historical Collections" of Virginia. 7 

Hunt, Rev. James 79 

Hunter, Rev. Andrew 34, 60, 61, 71 

Jennings, Rev. Jacob 46 

Journal of Col. James Gordon 119, 120 

Katarina Bierlin 13 

Kearsley, Elder John 68 

Keith, Rev. Isaac 79, 80, 131 

Kennedy, David 106 

Kerchival's History 14, 17 

Kernstown 7 

Kittocktin Church 84-88, 103 

Lacy, Rev. Diury 107, 116 

Lancaster Church 118-124 

Lancaster Church, Elders of 120 

Lancaster Church, Some Families of 119 

Lancaster Presbytery, Formed and Dissolved, 
131. 

Long, Rev. James 55, 60, 71, 79, 87 

Leesburg 102, 103 

Legrand, Rev. Nash..37, 38, 42, 100, 101,114 
Lexington Presbytery... 36, 37, 94, 100, 104, 
108, 132. 

List, Alphabetical, of Members of Winchester 

Presbytery 160-163 

List, Chronological of Members of Winchester 

Presbytery 138-159 

Lost River..... 57, 75, 76 

Lutheran Church 27, 99 

Lyle, Rev. John 93-95, 134, 135, 137 

Lynn (or Linn) Rev 14, 20, 29 

McConnell, Rev. James 71, 82 

McCreary, Rev. John 0, 52 

McDowell, Rev. Alexander 30, 44 

McGan, Rev. — 32 

McGill, Rev. Daniel 7, 10, 17 

McKnight, Rev. John..41, 58, 62, 65, 71-74, 
79, 87, 92, 98, 99, 104. 

McKown, Elder Samuel 105 

Martin, Rev. James 81 

Martin, Mr. Thomas Ill 

Martin, Col. T. B Ill 

Marriage Declared Void by Presbytery Ill 

Martinsburg 110-112, 132, 133 

Matthews, Rev. John ; 110 

Methodist Worship 115, 134 

Mecklenburg Church 63 



166 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. 130 

Middletown (Gerrardstown) 105 

Mill Creek (Bunker Hill) 6, 11, 12, 13 

Miller, Dr. Samuel 2 

Mines, Rev. John 103 

Montgomery, Rev. John. .35-37, 99, 100, 114 
Moorefield (Concrete) ,43, 45, 46, 75, 76, 132 

Morgan, Morgan 6, 13 

Mount Bethel 93, 96, 97 

Muir, Rev. James 80, 81 

"New Side" and "Old Side" 23-25,98 

"New Side," Accused of Intemperate Zeal, 
24, 25. 

"Nomini Hall" 34 

Norcross', Dr., History 53, 60, 73, 74 

Northern Neck 5, 12, 16, 118, 124 

North Branch of the Rappahannock 77 

North River 76 

Northumberland Church 118-124 

"Old Side" and "New Side" 23-25, 98 

Opecquon 6, 7, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 

26-28, 33-39, 47. 

Organ, John 118 

Organization of the Early Presbyterian 

Churches 125 

Organization of Winchester Presbytery. 133-137 

Orme, Rev. John 17 

Orthodoxy of Early Presbyterians 126 

Pack Horse Ford 10 

Parish of Cameron (Lees burg) 78,102 

Parish of Shelburn 78, 102 

Patriotism of the Early Presbyterians.,129, 130 

Patillo, Rev. Henry 119 

Patterson's Creek 22, 62, 63, 72, 93, 

96, 97, 132. 

Perry, Elder James 114, 136 

Persecutions of Presbyterians 120, 121. 

127-129. 

Persecutions Not Serious in Valley of Vir- 
ginia, and why 18, 19 

Poage, Rev. John 104, 105 

Potomac Church 8, 10, 32, 33 

Potomoke in Virginia 7-14 

Powell's Fort 116, 124 

Presbyterianism and Episcopacy (Dr. Chand- 
ler) 129 

Presbyterianism East and West of the Blue 

Ridge 125 

Presbyterial Committee of Supplies 88, 93 

Presbyterial Relations of the Early Churches, 

130-133. 
PRESBYTERIES. 

Baltimore 81, 131, 132 

Carlisle, passim. 
Donegal, passim. 

Franklin 133 

Hanover. . . .45, 99, 109, 122, 130, 131, 
132, 136. 



I -age. 

j PRESBYTERIES— Continued. 

I Huntingdon 28 

Lancaster 131 

Lexington 36, 37, 45, 94, 100, 104, 

108, 132. 

Long Island 16, 130 

New Brunswick 85, 86, 88 

New Castle, passim. 

New York 62 

Philadelphia 16 

Redstone 46 

Snow Hill 16, 130 

Winchester 133-137 

York 133 

j Presbyterial Records Lost, of New Castle, 

Vol. 1 9, 17, 30, 32 

Presbyterial Records Lost, of Donegal, Vol. 

| II 21, 30, 32. 44, 55, 59 

Records, Ecclesiastical, Imperfect and Scant, 

I 5,6. 

Records, Lost of Donegal, Vol. II..21, 30, 32, 
44, 35, 59. New Castle, Vol. I . .9,17, 32 
Reformed Dutch, Classis of New Jersey.21,62 

Reily Family of Bullskin 39, 42 

Revival, The Great in Virgimia 25 

Rhea, Rev. Joseph 60, 71, 79 

Riddle, Rev. David H 3, 100 

Riddle, Elder William 112 

Rippey, Elder Matthew 105 

Roan, Rev. John 23, 27, 48, 52, 57, 62, 

83, 91, 98. 

Rodgers, Rev. John 72 

Robinson, Rev. William 20 

Romney 91, 95-97, 132 

Ross, John, Marriage 12 

"Runnymeede" Farm 103, 104 

Schism, The of 1741 22, 25 

Scotch-Irish Not Wanted in Pennsylvania 13 

Scott, Rev. Archibald 66 

Scott, Rev. John A 14 

Scott, Rev. William N 66 

Scott, Major of Virginia 92 

Shelburn, Parrish 78, 102 

Shepherd, Capt. Thomas 63, 64 

Shepherdstown 10, 13, 63-69 

Sleepy Creek 22 

Slemons, Rev. John 67, 71, 77, 82, 98 

Smith, Rev. John Blair 37 

Smith, Rev. Sampson 92 

South Branch 21, 29, 30, 42-46, 72 

South River 113, 114 

Spottswood, Governor 10, 11, 12, 13 

Springfield 90-95, 132 

State of Its Churches When Winchester Pres- 
bytery was Organized 133, 134 

Statistics of the Church in 1720 16 

Stephens, Major 49 

Stephensburg 46 



INDEX. 



167 



Page. f Page. 

Stewart, Rev. William 17 j Van Meter, Isaac 21 

Strasburg (Stoverstown) 116 j Waddel, Rev. James 35, 121-124 

Synod of Philadelphia 7, 16, 23, 24, 25 Warm Springs in Virginia 76 

Synod of Philadelphia Divided 22-25 Warrenton 76, 78, 117 

Synod of New York 22, 23, 24 1 Washington, George , 27, 105 



Synod of New York and Philadelphia . . 22-25 
Tabulated Record of Members of Winchester 

Presbytery 138-159 

Tennents, Gilbert and William 23, 98 

Thorn, Rev. William 77, 79, 82 

Thompson, Rev. Amos. . .71, 77, 79, 82, 85- 

87, 98, 103. 

Thomson, Rev. John 19, 98 

Todd, Rev. John 119, 122 

Tombstone, Old in Elk Branch Graveyard, 
13, 14. 

"Trough," The on South Branch. .43, 72, 91 

Turkey Run 77, 78 

Tuscarora . . 7, 22, 29, 31, 51-54, 132, 133,134 
Vance, Rev. Hugh. . . .52-55, 60, 71, 82, 87, 

88, 98, 112. 

Van Meter, John 21, 43 



Washington, Charles 105, 106 

Waterford 85 

Waugh, Rev. Samuel 58, 78, 82, 87, 88, 

102, 103. 

White, Elder John .71, 106 

Whitefield, Rev. George 123 

Williamson, Rev. WiUiam 77, 115-117 

Wilson, Elder of Opecquon Church 49 

Wilson, Rev. E. L. 88 

Wilson, Elder William 105 

Winchester Church 97, 101 

Winchester Meeting House 100 

Winchester Presbytery Organized. . . .133-136 

Woods, Rev. F. M 54 

Woodstock, 116 

Zane, Col. Isaac 49 

Zeal of Early Ministers 126, 127 



168 



ERRATA. 



Page 3, 3d line from bottom For "dependencies" read ependence 

Page 7, 15th line from bottom For "Potomoke" read Patomoke 

Page 18, 7th line from top For "girding" read girdling 

Page 54, 2d line from top , Put a comma for the period after county 

Page 62, 4th line from bottom For "McWhorten" read McWhorter 

Page 78, 7th line from bottom .For "Episcopalion" read Episcopalian 

Page 82, 7th line from bottom , For "evengelistic" read evangelistic 

Page 108, 16th line from bottom For "Faqquier" read Fauquier 

Page 112, 8th line from top For "principle" read principal 

Page 117, 13th line from bottom For "Stevens" read Stephens 

Page 118, 13th line from bottom For "Newey" read Newry 

Page 125, 9th line from top For "Alexander" read Alexandria 

Page 126, 6th line from bottom For "was" read were 

131, 18th line from bottom ' For "seem" read seems 



In the "Tabulated Record" the following: corrections should be made, viz: 

No. 24, William N. Scott Died January 24, 1857 

No. 33, Wells Andrews Ordained January 11, 1818 

No. 42, William Lowrey Drowned in White River, Ind., 2, 11, 1828 

No. 64, Jacob DoU Licensed July 17, 1841 

No. 67, Robert B. White Ordained September 18, 1838 

No. 68, G. W. Kennedy Erase date of ordination 

No. 73, John J. Royall Withdrew to N. S. Presbytery April 18, 1850 

No. 152, J. H. Williamson Instead of (?) insert April 18, 1839 

No. 153, J. H. Davis Instead of (?) insert April 18, 1850 




V 



